Cakebread Vinegar Chicken

I made the following recipe for our California Wine Country dinner as a main dish for us to enjoy. One of our favorite wineries in Napa is Cakebread. Aside from great wine, they also host culinary classes there. The following recipe comes from Cakebread and is a delicious dish that’s easy to make with ingredients in your pantry. You can substitute the creme fraiche in the recipe with sour cream if you’d like too. I served this with an herbed rice pilaf.

3 1/2lb – 4 lbs fryer chicken, cut up
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon butter
salt & pepper to taste
6 cloves garlic, peeled
1/2 cup red wine vinegar
1 tablespoon sugar
1 cup tomato puree
3 bay leaves
2 tablespoons creme fraiche
1 tablespoon italian flat leaf parsley, chopped

Heat a large non- reactive pan over high heat. Season chicken with salt and pepper on all sides.

Add oil and butter to pan. Set chicken pieces in pan, spacing them apart so the pan is not too crowded. Sear on one side. Turn onto the other side and add the garlic cloves. Once chicken is an even brown on all sides, remove to a plate.

Drain all the oil out of the pan. Return the pan to the heat and add the vinegar. Scrape the bottom of the pan to release any brown bits. Bring to a boil and add the sugar, tomato and bay leaf.

Return the pieces of dark meat to the pan. Turn the heat to low and cover. Keep at a low simmer for 20 minutes.

Add the white meat pieces to the pan and continue cooking for another 5 minutes. Remove chicken from pan and bring sauce back to a boil.

Reduce until lightly thickened. Whisk in the crème fraiche.

Add the chicken pieces back to the sauce and turn to coat with sauce. Transfer the dish to a serving bowl and garnish with chopped parsley.