I generally use a somewhat modified version of this Tyler Florence recipe:
Recipes : Coq au Vin : Food Network
I won't copy the entire ingredients list, but here's the gist:
-Fry Bacon, remove (I do NOT put it back in, but I do serve it w/everything)
-Flour chicken and brown in bacon drippings
-Flame chicken in brandy (I do this before adding veggies, Tyler does after)
-Add veggies
-Add fluids & herbs
-Simmer for 1 hr+
-Open top and let reduce (I only let it go down for maybe 5 minutes)
I generally serve it in "deconstructed" (although not really, because it was all cooked together, this is just plating) fashion, because it allows me to plate it more attractively than just stew on a plate.
I generally use drumsticks instead of chicken thighs because I think they can be easier to eat, and the skin browns more attractively, IMO.
My other major departure is that I tend to just chop normal onions coarsely intead of using the pearl onions. I *hate* peeling a billion little tiny pearl onions, as I've yet to buy goggles and I cry like a baby.
I pick the chicken out and then strain the sauce, collecting the veggies. Then I pick the herbs out of the vegetables. I like to keep each component seperate as it keeps things from getting too soggy.
Before serving, I will sometimes pop the drumsticks back in the oven in a pan by themselves at like 450 just to crisp them a little.
I usually serve it with either some truffled mashed potatoes or some sliced potatoes fried in duck fat. Something hearty.
Coq Au Vin makes a wicked appetizer too, if you want to get elaborate. I then do it micro-sized, with "buffalo wing" mini drumsticks, two per person, plated with a little bit of veggies & bacon, some cauliflower/potato puree (stolen from Pat O'Connell's cookbook), and sauce drizzled around.
In all honestly, it's probably my favorite dish. It's often what I fall back on when I have to serve people something that tastes somewhat impressive but doesn't take a million years or a lot of fuss to prepare.