Chicken with Forty (Twenty) Cloves of Garlic

The Hubble and I are not television people. As a matter of fact, we didn't have "television" for about 6 years. We had a television...but we only used it to watch DVDs. When Little Butt came along and we moved to a tiny town called Philadelphia...NY (Didn't know there was one?? Me neither...until I moved there). Since there was absolutely nothing to do in Philadelphia, NY (they didn't even have a grocery store) we decided to finally bite the bullet and get 'television.'

The magic of television consumed me and I immediately discovered the two channels that would save my sanity that year...The Disney Channel and The Food Network. I quickly picked out my favorites from both channels and filled the DVR with tons of shows and recordings. As I watched The Food Network shows I would take notes and jump on my computer to put the recipes that interested me in my 'recipe box.'

I fell madly in love with the Barefoot Contessa, or Ina Garten. She's just so sweet and lovely and I drooled over pretty much everything she would make. One of the first recipes I tried was her Chicken with Forty Cloves of Garlic. Upon taking his first bite, The Hubble fell in love with Ina as well.

Now, I haven't made this recipe since then so it just goes to show what an amazing recipe it is since The Hubble asked for it specifically after a couple years. Now I will share it with you. However, I didn't make Chicken with Forty Cloves of Garlic since it was just us...mine is more Chicken with Twenty Cloves of Garlic. Don't be scared because of the amount of garlic used. I promise...The Hubble still loved me afterward and he still gave me kisses. That's true love for ya folks. Okay...on to the food!

Ingredients!

Separate all the little garlic cloves.

Throw them in a pot of boiling water for about 60 seconds.

Take them out and drain them.

Peel off all the little skins and set them aside.

Dry off the chicken with a paper towel.

Sprinkle on some salt.

And some pepper.

Melt some butter in a Dutch Oven.

And cook the chicken in batches, browning skin side down first, then flip them (about 3 to 5 minutes on each side).

At this point, if you are like me and JUST remembered you were supposed to make garlic mashed potatoes with this meal, you can call in reinforcements. I put The Hubble to work peeling the potatoes. A man has to work for his supper right?? Or is that sing?? Either way...

Here's the flipped chicken. Nice and brown on the top, now it needs to brown the bottom.

Finish browning all the chicken and set aside on a separate plate. The chicken doesn't have to be fully cooked at this point because we are going to cook it some more in a bit.

Throw all your garlic in the pot.

And saute until they are nice and golden brown (about 5 to 10 minutes).

Pour in 2 Tablespoons of the Cognac and all the wine and bring to a boil.

Go ahead and scrape the bottom of the pot to get all those bits loose while you are at it.

Return the chicken...

With the juices, back into the pot.

Sprinkle with thyme...

Cover and simmer on low heat about 30 minutes or until all the chicken is thoroughly cooked.

When all the chicken is cooked and you can hardly stand it anymore because it smells so good and if you don't eat it now you might just have to gnaw off your own arm...before you lose a limb...

Put the chicken in a separate dish.

And take about a 1/2 cup of the sauce/juice out of the pot and put it in a separate bowl.

Add in the flour and whisk it all together.

Then whisk that mixture back into the pot (we do it this way so you don't have big flour clumps in the sauce when you are done).

Add in the rest of the Cognac and some cream. Raise the heat and let the sauce boil for a few minutes until it's the desired thickness.

Then scoop some of that delicious sauce onto the chicken, serve and enjoy!

Chicken with Twenty Cloves of Garlic
Adapted from the Barefoot Contessa via The Food Network

Ingredients

nocoupons

• 2 whole heads garlic, about 20 cloves
• 2 1/2 to 3 lbs chicken (I used a package of thighs and a package of drummies)
• Kosher salt
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
• 2 tablespoons good olive oil
• 3 tablespoons Cognac, divided
• 1 cup dry white wine
• 1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 2 tablespoons heavy cream

Directions

1. Separate the cloves of garlic and drop them into a pot of boiling water for 60 seconds. Drain the garlic and peel. Set aside.
2. Dry the chicken with paper towels. 
3. Season liberally with salt and pepper on both sides. 
4. Heat the butter and oil in a large pot or Dutch oven over medium-high heat. 
5. In batches, saute the chicken in the fat, skin side down first, until nicely browned, about 3 to 5 minutes on each side. Turn with tongs or a spatula; you don't want to pierce the skin with a fork. If the fat is burning, turn the heat down to medium. When a batch is done, transfer it to a plate and continue to saute all the chicken in batches. 
6. Remove the last chicken to the plate and add all of the garlic to the pot. Lower the heat and saute for 5 to 10 minutes, turning often, until evenly browned. 
7. Add 2 tablespoons of the Cognac and the wine, return to a boil, and scrape the brown bits from the bottom of the pan. 
8. Return the chicken to the pot with the juices and sprinkle with the thyme leaves. 
9. Cover and simmer over the lowest heat for about 30 minutes, until all the chicken is done.
10. Remove the chicken to a platter and cover with aluminum foil to keep warm. 
11. In a small bowl, whisk together 1/2 cup of the sauce and the flour and then whisk it back into the sauce in the pot. 
12. Raise the heat, add the remaining tablespoon of Cognac and the cream, and boil for 3 minutes.
13. Add salt and pepper, to taste; it should be very flavorful because chicken tends to be bland. 
14. Pour the sauce and the garlic over the chicken and serve hot.