Chicken with Forty Cloves of Garlic

["Recipe credit:\u00a0The Essential James Beard Cookbook<\/a>\u00a0(St. Martin\u2019s Press, 2012).\u00a0Reprinted with permission from\u00a0 St. Martin's Press<\/a>.\u00a0Recipe presented and prepared by Dani Meyer of \u00a0 TheAdventureBite.com<\/a><\/em>","Recipe credit:\u00a0

Ingredients

8 chicken leg quarters
2/3 cup of California Olive Ranch extra virgin olive oil
4 celery ribs, thinly sliced
6 sprigs fresh flat-leaf parsley
1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh tarragon or 11/2 teaspoon dried tarragon
1/2 cup dry vermouth
21/2 teaspoons salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Pinch of freshly grated nutmeg
40 garlic cloves, crushed under a knife and peeled

Instructions

Wash the chicken legs and thighs and thoroughly dry with paper towels. Put the oil in a shallow dish or a plate and turn the chicken in the oil to coat on all sides. Reserve the unused oil.
Lay the sliced celery in the bottom of a heavy casserole or Dutch oven (not uncoated cast iron) with a tightfitting lid.
Add the parsley and tarragon, then lay the chicken pieces on top. Pour the vermouth over the chicken, and add 1 teaspoon salt, the pepper, and the nutmeg.
Pour the reserved oil into the casserole, then toss in all the garlic and sprinkle with the remaining salt. Put a piece of aluminum foil over the casserole and then cover to make a tight seal; or make a thick, heavy flour and water paste to seal the lid, and cover the lid and paste with another layer of foil.
Bake in a preheated 375°F oven for 11/2 hours without removing the lid. To serve remove the foil (or break and remove the flour paste seal) and serve hot, from the pot.