Chicken Thighs with Pineau des Charentes

I first discovered Pineau des Charentes during a camping trip through Charente-Maritime. It is a mix of cognac, the famous product of the region, with lightly fermented grape must and can be drunk either as an aperitif or a dessert wine. To my surprise, Paul's actually carries it and they kindly offered a discount.

This lovely little recipe is from a newly acquired Paula Wolfert cookbook, The Cooking of Southwest France. While it may technically be part of the Mediterranean region, SW France seems to use more animal fat and dairy products than olive oil. In any case, this recipe, with its abundant amounts of butter and cream, would be right at home in Normandy, too, though probably with Calvados instead of Pineau.

You start by crumbling 1/2 oz. dried porcini in a strainer and rinsing with cold water, then put the pieces in a bowl covered with 1 c. hot water and let sit at least 30 min. Then you take 6 to 8 chicken thighs, about 2 lbs, and put them skin side down in a large skillet where 3 Tbl butter have melted and come to a sizzle. You sprinkle with salt and pepper and brown them, not turning, for 5 min. or so. You drain off most of the fat, add 1 c. of Pineau and quickly light it while it's warming up. The flames lasted a good minute, a testimony to the alcoholic content of the Pineau! Once they have subsided, add 1 Tbl of chopped shallot, cook for 1 min., turn over the chicken pieces (there's still a considerable amount of liquid), cover and cook over moderate heat for 25 min.

Meanwhile, clean and quarter 1 lb. of cremini mushrooms and drain the porcini through a coffee filter and strainer, reserving both the porcini pieces and the soaking liquid separately. When the liquid in the skillet has reduced to a glaze and the thighs are cooked through, turn the chicken once again to glaze the skin side and remove to a plate. Wipe out the skillet (I actually had to use a new skillet because my nonstick skillet was too encrusted), melt 2 Tbl butter and sautee the mushrooms and porcini for 5 min. Add the reserved soaking liquid and cook for about 10 min until that reduces to a glaze, then add 1/2 c. heavy cream and cook for another 5 min. to reach a sauce consistency. Put the thighs back in, skin side up, partially cover skillet and gently reheat. Sprinkle with chopped chives and parsley to serve. We had noodles and green salad with it. It's quite a spectacular little dish, for being so cheap and easy.

Oddly enough, Whole Foods was selling its thighs with a back portion attached. What is the use of this? Is it just a way to increase the weight? I removed the back portions and froze them for my next batch of stock but it's a step I could have done without.