Really Good Chicken

I had no intention of writing a recipe post. I don't know how I feel about recipe posts, generally. I enjoy playing in the kitchen. There is something therapeutic about chopping veg and simmering stock. Stews and soups are totally my comfort foods. But, this isn't a food blog, and I'm not a particularly original cook. I dunno. My other problem is that I cook pretty much by instinct rather than recipe, even when I have a recipe in front of me. Is that more or less helpful? I dunno.

I digress. Shocking. I know.

Since I didn't plan on writing this as a recipe post, 1) my recipe has no name, and 2) there is only this lame picture of my dinner plate. (Ahem, classy. Je sais.) Apologies for the lack of mediocre food shots.

Food photography is my real calling. Clearly.

The food was, however, so good that I need to record the cooking and subsequent devouring of it for posterity.

***Disclaimer. This made enough food for 2 adults and a baby.  Anyone with more mouths would need to do some multiplication.

Ingredients:
Chicken (I used 3 legs, 'cause we had them. I think most anything would work)
Carrots (I used about 5 of the small ones I picked up the other day)
Onion (I used two smalls ones, but would normally use a large one)
Tomatoes (I used about a pint of fresh frozen tomatoes. A can of tomatoes or a few fresh ones would probably be okay, too.)
Garlic (I used a spoonful of the jarred stuff.)
1-ish cup white wine (I used the bottom of a bottle of Chardonnay. The top of a bottle would work well, too.)
Thyme (I used a sprig of fresh. The best.)
Seasonings to taste

I got the ol' oven cranked to about 300. Meanwhile, in a Dutch oven, I browned the chicken in a little oil. Once that was done, I removed the chicken and deglazed the pot with the white wine and reduced it to about 1/2 in volume.

This is when Charles called in from the deck, asking if I was cooking with beer. We were off to a fantastic start.

I added everything else: the chopped veg, the tomatoes, and some garlic and thyme. I seasoned it with seasoned salt and pepper. I put the chicken back into the mix and added enough water to about 3/4 up the veg/chicken mix. I brought the whole thing to a boil, covered it and put it in my now-hot oven.

I let it cook for about 3 hours. By then, there was very little liquid, but the food was very tender and caramelized.

And it tasted great!