What in the heck was I thinking? I’ve done my fair share of ranting in this column about how boring chicken dishes can get. We always seem to fall back on the few recipes we are familiar with and that we’ve made dozens of times. Why have I been hiding the recipe for Coq au Vin, a classic succulent French dish slow braised in red wine?

Coq au Vin (pronounced coke-oh-van) literally meaning “rooster and wine” and any chef will tell you that it is a “must make” at least once in your life. But I think if you make it once, it will be part of your chicken recipe rotation! Whether you choose a whole chicken cut in parts, Julia Child’s version with legs and thighs, or my version with just chicken thighs, you’ll find this elegant dish ever so satisfying, especially served with mashed or melting potatoes and a nice charred slice or two of a French baguette. Chicken dinner never tasted so good!