The origin of the recipe is unknown. There are two popular myths as to its source: Napoleon and Caesar. What is known is that the recipe is very old (at least 400 years) but did not become popular until the early 1900s. Since then it has become one of the best known French recipes, both within and outside of France. Coq is the French word for “cock” (as in old Rooster, or male chicken). Vin is French for “wine” and “au” is French for “of the”. Consequently, “Coq au Vin” literally translates as “Cock of the wine”. However, as literal translations are not that meaningful, a better translation would be “Cock cooked with wine”. Until the 20th century it was common for rural families to have some chickens (for eggs and meat) and a rooster. The rooster would be kept until it was too old to perform its duties, at which time it would be killed and eaten. However, by this time the meat would be hard and stringy, so cooking it slowly in wine would tend to soften the meat and make it more edible. As such, the recipe has historically been considered “peasant food” or “poor people’s food” as the well-off would be able to afford a better cut of meat which would not require slow cooking in wine in order to be edible.

6-8 strips of thick apple wood smoked bacon 1/4 by 1 1/2-inch strips
3 1/2 pounds Good Shepherd Heritage Poultry ™ (Rooster or older bird a selection of parts, or all of one kind), thoroughly dried
.Salt and pepper
1 bay leaf
1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
18 to 20 small white onions, peeled or roughly diced large whole white onion
3 tablespoons flour
2 cups red wine (hearty Burgundy,)
About 2 cups chicken stock or beef bouillon
1 or 2 cloves garlic, minced
About 2 tablespoon tomato paste
3/4 pound fresh mushrooms, trimmed, washed, and quartered

Directions:
1. Sauté bacon several minutes in 2 tablespoons oil in a heavy-bottomed casserole until lightly browned; remove bacon to a side dish and leave fat in pan.

2. Heat fat in pan to moderately hot, add chicken (skin side down), and turn frequently to brown nicely on all sides.

3. Season chicken pieces with salt and pepper; add bay leaf and thyme. Place onions around the chicken. Cover and cook slowly 10 minutes, turning once.

4. Uncover pan and sprinkle on the flour, turning chicken and onions so flour is absorbed; cook 3 to 4 minutes more, turning once or twice.

5. Remove from heat, gradually stir and swirl in the wine and enough stock or bouillon to almost cover the chicken. Add the bacon, garlic, and tomato paste to the pan. Cover and simmer slowly 20 to 30 minutes per pound, then test chicken; remove those pieces that are tender, and continue cooking the rest until tender. You may add additional broth to keep cooking sauce bubbling. If onions are not quite tender, continue cooking them; then return all chicken to the pan, add mushrooms, and simmer 6 to 8 minutes. Sauce should be just thick enough to coat chicken and vegetables lightly. If too thin, boil down rapidly to concentrate; if too thick, thin out with spoonfuls of chicken broth.

Grandma Litke was a God fearing woman and never missed church on Sunday, which meant she had to get up early to start dinner. One of her specials was baked chicken. She’d get everything ready and just before she walked out the door it all went into the oven. She knew her bird would take longer to bake than most and she had the cooking time planed according to the stan-dard 45minute sermon, 3 hymns, the offering and the preacher handshake as they went out the door of the church. Bt the time they had arrived home the house smelled wonderful, and the bird, well the bird was cooked to perfection.

4-5 to 5 lb Good Shepherd Ranch Heritage Chicken™ roasting type
2 tsp salt
1 branch of celery
1 small onion sliced
½ clove of garlic minced
Poultry Seasoning
¼ cup olive oil

Clean chicken thoroughly. Wash quickly in side ands out with cold water and drain thoroughly. Sprinkle one half the salt inside the chicken. Truss chicken lightly to hold shape. Choose a kettle of a size into which the chicken will fit snugly. Keep the shape uniform so that the bird will stand squarely in its back when put into the roasting pan. Add 2 ½ cups of water along with celery, salt and onion. Cover tightly and heat to boiling, then reduce and simmer for 30 minutes. To keep the chicken moist, spoon some of the hot broth up over it from time to time during this parboiling. Remove the chicken, drain off the broth and measure, there should be about 2 cups fluid to be used with dressing. Sprinkle 1 tablespoon of seasoning in to cavity of bird. Mix ¼ cup of olive oil with remaining seasoning packet. Brush chicken on outside. Place chicken in roasting pan that has a rack that lifts the bird ½” from base of pan. Add ¾ cup of broth around chicken. Cover the roasting pan and place in a moderately hot oven (375` F ) and bake until chicken is very tender and browned or from 30 to 35 minutes per pound or 2 ½ – 3 hrs. for a 5 lb bird.

Wheat harvest is still a community event and while the harvest is more efficient than before one thing that is constant is the need to feed a hard worker. This recipe was used by my Grandmother and Great –Grandmother to feed large groups of harvesters. It was often served cold on sandwiches or kept warm and served with piping hot mashed potatoes, (This recipe can also be found in Molly O’Neill’s book “One Big Table”)

1 Good Shepherd Heritage Chicken™ ( 4 lb Barred Rock) cut into frying size pieces

1/2 cup flour
3/4 tsp salt
1 tsp poultry seasoning
1/2 tsp ground pepper
1/4 tsp paprika (optional)
Cooking oil
1 cup whipping cream
1/2 cup half & half

Rinse and pat pieces to remove excess water. Make mixture of 1/2 cup flour (whole wheat can be used ) 3/4 tsp salt, 1 Tsp poultry seasoning, and 1/2 tsp fresh ground pepper, (add paprika if desired) Dredge chicken pieces in mixture then fry until lightly brown. Places pieces in a roasting pan and pour mixture of 1 cup cream and 1/2 cup of half and half., cover and bake at 325` for 2 to 2 –1/2 hours. You can make a very rich gravy with pan drippings.

Note: Variation on the above recipe: use 1-1/2 can of condensed milk instead of cream. Add 1 large sliced onion before adding chicken to baking pan. After baking is complete remove bones and spoon mixture over home made biscuits

Pre heat Oven to 325F.
1 (3lb) Good Shepherd Heritage Ranch Chicken™ Jersey Giant prefered
8 oz cream Cheese softened
2 cups shredded cheese (like Colby/Jack blend (divided)
½ cup blue cheese salad dressing
1/4th cup favorite hot sauce
1 (14oz) chicken broth
3/4cup boiling water
1 ½ cups raw uncooked brown rice
½ cup diced celery
½ cup diced red bell pepper
1 cup Panko bread crumbs

Grease a 13×9-inch baking dish. Cut chicken into serving pieces; remove and discard skin if desired.

In medium bowl combine cream cheese with 1 cup shredded cheese, blue cheese dressing and hot sauce; whisk until smooth. Pour chicken broth and hot water into baking dish; sprinkle with rice, celery and red pepper. Lay chicken pieces on top of rice mixture; spoon cream cheese mixture over chicken. Cover with foil and bake for 2 hours. Adding addi-tional water if needed. Meanwhile in medium bowl combine remaining 1 cup of shredded cheese and Panko bread crumbs. Remove foil and sprinkle chicken with crumb mixture. Return to oven and bake uncovered for additional 15 min or until chicken is done and topping is browned. Let stand 10 minutes