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This past Christmas, I got on the Julia Child bandwagon, enthralled by the movie Julie and Julia (more for Meryl Streep's portrayal of Child than anything else), and put Mastering the Art of French Cooking on my wish list.

Well, my mom came through and I found myself poring over not just volume 1, but volume 2 as well.

And although I love the books, and I say this with the greatest affection for Child, some of the recipes are more complicated than they need to be. There, I said it. Challenge me if you must, but it is the reality by my standards, and that is saying a lot from someone who is taking chef training as a hobby.

I don't doubt that much of what is in the books is directly taught at the Cordon Bleu. The problem being that some of it is clearly restaurant cooking.

Case in point: Coq au Vin.

A great braising dish, this one becomes unnecessarily complex with seperate recipes for the brown-braised onions (to be added at the end) and the sauteed mushrooms, also to be added as a garnish. I puzzled over this, and can only come up with this explanation: in a large production kitchen, you would make these onions or mushrooms in large batches because they would be used for several dishes. At home, it just doesn't make sense.

Now, the chef in me says: "Wait! How will the chicken get the flavours of the onion, if they're not cooked in the dish?" The practical side of me says: "And that's yet another pot to wash!"

So I tinkered with the recipe and referenced the Larousse Gastronomique (one of the previous year's Christmas gifts), and found that a delicious result could be achieved in one dish and dare I say it, maybe even a little bit healthier! Note: I did not say this is "healthy". It still contains bacon and enough fat off the chicken.

Just to make sure I didn't deviate too far, I even did the flambe. (Be sure to stand back, as you'll be surprised by how high the flames will rise). The result was a rich sauce, tasty mushrooms and onions to boot and a perfectly braised chicken thigh. I also used only thighs, which not only makes this an economical option, but the dark meat works best with the slow braising. I like this recipe because it breaks all the rules-- using red wine with poultry and beef broth instead of chicken. Of course if you were so inclined you could make your own dark chicken broth by browning the bones first, but that's another time-consuming endeavour.

Coq au Vin (à la méthode Vixen)

3 to 4 oz of bacon

2 onions, sliced

1/2 lb mushrooms, quartered

2 lbs of chicken thighs, skin on bone-in.

2 tbsp cognac

1/2 can of tomato paste

3 cloves garlic

1 bay leaf

2 sprigs of thyme

1 cup red wine

2 cups of beef broth

Cut the bacon into strips widthwise and saute until brown in a dutch oven. Remove from pan. In the bacon drippings, brown the chicken with the skin on. After all sides are brown, remove and let sit.

Add in the onions and brown, slowly over low heat. Add mushrooms and continue to cook, adding a little butter to prevent sticking. Stir in tomato paste and minced garlic. Cook for another 2 to 3 minutes before proceeding.

With a heavy lid in hand, pour in the cognac, stand back, and ignite. Snuff out the flames by placing the lid over the pot and letting them die out. Scrape the bottom of the pot, pour in the wine, and simmer to reduce by half.

Coq Au VinAdd the broth, bay leaf and thyme. Remove the skin from the chicken and add thighs (without the skin) to the pot.

With a piece of parchment paper cut to fit the pot, place in oven at 350F for an hour. Baste chicken every 15 minutes to keep moist. Remove from oven, and if sauce needs thickening, take chicken out of pot and reduce. Replace chicken and serve.

Serve with roasted new potatoes and green beans.