Chicken with Bacon and White Wine Sauce

(or back in the kitchen again)

It has been an incredibly long time since I have last posted about food.  

Imagine that: a food blog without food!

Chicken with Bacon and White Wine Sauce

But I recently found a dish on Pinterest that I knew I had to try.  This dish is from the blog Pinch of Yum.  I made a few minor changes to the recipe, but this is a fairly faithful rendition of the recipe.

Oh, and did I happen to mention that somehow I can miraculously eat chicken again?!  After seven long years of having to avoid chicken for fear of having an asthma attack, my allergy to chicken disappeared as suddenly as it appeared.  But hey, I'm not complaining!

After gathering ingredients and clearing the clutter off my kitchen table, I photographed my mise en place.  Our new organic grocery store recently had bone-in chicken thighs on sale for $0.88 a pound, so I picked up a package.  I had the rest of the ingredients on hand, so this ended up being an inexpensive, but elegant meal. 

Skillet Chicken with Bacon and White Wine Sauce
(adapted from Pinch of Yum)

3 slices bacon
1/2 cup flour
salt
pepper
2 teaspoons Herbes de Provence
1 1/2 - 2 lbs. chicken thighs with skin
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 tablespoons white onion, thinly sliced
1/2 cup dry white wine
1 cup vegetable stock
fresh parsley, for garnish

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Heat a large ovenproof Dutch oven or cast iron skillet over medium high heat.  Cut the bacon into small pieces and fry for 5 to 8 minutes, stirring occasionally.  Remove from the pan with a slotted spoon and set aside, leaving the bacon grease in the pan.  Turn down the heat before adding the chicken.

Salt and pepper the chicken and add the Herbes de Provence to the flour.  Dredge each piece of chicken in the flour mixture and transfer to the hot pan.  Pan-fry the chicken for a few minutes on each side, until golden brown (but not cooked through).  Remove the chicken from the pan and set aside on a plate.

Add the onions to the pan with the olive oil.  Saute for 5 to 10 minutes, until softened and fragrant and golden brown.  Add the wine slowly, stirring to get all the browned bits from the bottom of the pan.  Add the vegetable stock and let every thing cook until it reduces by about half.

Add the chicken and bacon back to the pan and bake for 40 minutes, basting every 10 or so minutes with the pan sauce.  Remove from the oven when the chicken skin is crispy and the chicken is fully cooked (165 degrees internal temperature).

Rather than mixing the salt and pepper into the flour mixture, I prefer to directly salt and pepper the meat.  I find that the meat is better seasoned using this method.  The Herbes de Provence were mixed into the flour and the seasoned meat was lightly coated in the herbed flour.

The first step in the cooking was to brown the bacon pieces in the cast iron skillet.  I added a fourth slice of bacon that would later be added to a side dish of green beans.

After the bacon was browned, the bits were removed from the pan and set aside on a paper towel to drain.  The chicken was placed in the skillet, skin side down, and sauteed until brown on both sides.

The chicken was set aside and the onion was sauteed until soft and translucent.  Then the wine was added to the skillet and the fond was gently scraped from the bottom of the pan.  Next, the vegetable stock was added and allowed to reduce for several minutes.

The chicken and bacon were added back to the skillet and the pan was placed in a 350 degree oven for 40 minutes. 

Meanwhile, I prepared freshly picked (or not so freshly picked, as the case may be) green beans from my garden in the microwave.  After cleaning and cutting the end of the green beans, I salted the beans and microwaved them on high for one minute.  Then I added the bacon, a drizzle of balsamic vinegar, a splash of extra virgin olive oil, a grind of black pepper, and half a teaspoon of white sugar.  The beans cooked on high in the microwave for another three minutes.

The chicken is ready to be served.

This was a delightful meal.  I can't tell you how wonderful it is to be able to eat chicken again!