My Dinner with Martin

A few weeks ago I was the head kitchen flunky at the L.A. Times Book Festival Culinary Stage. One of the guest chefs I had the pleasure of assisting was Martin Yan. Not only is he a superb chef but the original cooking entertainer. His fans in the first row brought their own plates to grab a sample of his demo food. He's like a stand up comedium with a cleaver. He demonstrated his cutting techniques on stage, including cutting up the chicken in this photo in a mere 16 seconds. I carted it home and stuck it in my freezer. Today I made a classic French dish using this special chicken. I can pretend Martin cooked it for me.

COQ (COUPE PAR MARTIN YAN) DU VIN

1 chicken, cut up into 8 pieces -- a kosher stewing chicken is best
1 bottle of good quality red wine -- 2 Buck Chuck Gamay Beaujolais or Shiraz are fine - no Merlot!
a bouquet garni of bay leaf, sprig of fresh thyme, parsley stalks
coursely ground black pepper

Marinate the chicken in wine with the bouquet garni and pepper. Let sit overnight, at least 8-10 hours.

In a heavy Dutch oven, heat on medium flame:

2 tablespoons olive oil
3 tablespoons unsalted butter

Add:

1/3 lb smoked bacon, chopped and blanched for 1 min

Cook for a few minutes, stirring constantly. Add the chicken and brown on both sides a few pieces at a time.

In a ladle, add and carefully flame with a match:

2 tablespoons Cognac

Pour flaming cognac over chicken. Shake to loosen chicken from pan and add:

1 tablespoon flour

Stir well. Cook a few more minutes. Strain and add the wine marinade with the bouquet garni to the chicken with:

2 peeled and crushed garlic cloves

Cover chicken and wine and simmer for 45 minutes on low heat. In the last 10 minutes, brown in a separate pan:

1 tablespoon unsalted butter
2 medium white onions and 2 medium shallots
a sprinkle of salt and sugar

Turn regularly to brown evenly on medium heat. Add to pan:

1/4 lb small white mushrooms, washed, dried, cut in half
juice of 1/2 lemon

Cook for 5 minutes.

Add onions/shallots and mushrooms chicken and wine. Stir gently. Skim off visible fat. Season to taste.
Serve with a crusty baguette. Eat well. Laugh hearty.