Chicken Madeira

[james]

We did everything in the oven tonight, including the chicken, potatoes, zucchini, cabbage and two focaccia. Lots of fun. The Chicken Madeira was nice.

Ingredients
1 whole chicken cut into pieces
1 onion chopped
1 garlic clove chopped and smashed
1lb mushrooms chopped
1/2 cup of peas
2Tbl olive oil
2 cups chicken stock
1/2 cup Madeira (we used Vin Santo)
Sage
5Tbl butter
Salt and pepper

Preparation
Use a terra cotta baking pan with a lid large enough to hold the chicken without overlapping. If you don't have a lid, you can use foil.

Add the oil, followed by the onions, garlic, mushrooms and chicken, placed in layers. This is a dish that uses top and bottom heat to cook the casserole without turning or moving the food.

Oven Firing
Fire your oven until it reaches 700F, and the carbon burns off the oven dome, then allow the temperature to fall to about 500F, as the fire burns down ( about a three Mississippi oven).

Push the coals to the side and let the fire die. You can remove the coals if you want to get going.

Cooking
Set the pan in the hot oven, allowing the chicken to reach a nice dark brown on top. It should take 15-20 minutes.

Add the stock, the Madeira and the peas, cover and bake for another 30-40 minutes.

Remove the sauce from the pan, remove the fat, and reduce in a sauce pan, while the chicken rests covered. Swirl in the 5Tbls of butter right before you serve. Assemble the chicken on a platter and top with the sauce.

We served this with roast potatoes, zucchini and braised cabbage.