*Ina Garten's Chicken with Forty Cloves of Garlic

Sweet and delicious roasted garlic chicken. To prepare this dish ahead, refrigerate the chicken with the sauce and reheat over low heat before serving.



Ingredients

• 3 whole heads of garlic, about 40 cloves
• 2 3-1/2 lb. chickens, cut up (I just buy a big package of skin-on chicken thighs)
• Kosher salt
• Freshly ground pepper
• 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
• 2 tablespoons good olive oil
• 3 tablespoons Cognac, divided
• 1-1/2 cups dry white wine
• 1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 2 tablespoons heavy cream

Preparation

• Separate the cloves of garlic and drop them into a pot of boiling water for 60 seconds. Drain the garlic and peel. Set aside. (this method makes it so much easier to peel all that garlic!)
• Dry the chicken with paper towels. Season liberally with salt and pepper on both sides.
• Heat the butter and olive oil in a large skillet, pot or Dutch oven over medium-high heat.
• In batches, sauté the chicken skin-side down first, until nicely browned, about 3-5 minutes on each side. Turn with tongs or 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 sauté all the chicken in batches.
• Remove the last chicken to the plate and add all of the garlic to the pot. Lower the heat and sauté for 5-10 minutes, turning often until evenly browned.
• Add 2 tablespoons of the Cognac and the wine, return to a boil, and scrape the brown bits from the bottom of the pan.
• Return the chicken to the pot with the juices and sprinkle with the thyme leaves.
• Cover and simmer over the lowest heat for 30 minutes, until all the chicken is done.
• Remove the chicken to a platter and cover with aluminum foil to keep warm.
• In a small bowl, whisk together ½ cup of the sauce from the pot, add the flour to it and then whisk it back into the sauce in the pot.
• Raise the heat, add the remaining tablespoon of Cognac and the cream and boil for 3 minutes.
• Add salt and pepper to taste. It should be very flavorful.
• Pour the sauce and the garlic over the chicken and serve hot.