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!

Happy Independence Day

Hope you have a happy and safe holiday weekend.

Hiking and Great BBQ

Last week the Foodie Daughter and I took a trip to Ohio to 

Hocking Hills State Park.

I had visited this beautiful area once as a child and wanted to visit again, this time to take photos for my photography business, Photoscapes by Marilyn.  The Foodie Daughter was kind enough to go along with me so that I would have a traveling companion and a hiking companion.

 All of these photos were taken on my iPhone.

 The lower falls at Old Man's Cave.

 The Foodie Daughter poses in one of the small caves in the
Old Man's Cave area.

Old Man's Cave is named after a hermit who lived in the area during the Civil War.

 

 The upper falls and the stone bridge at Old Man's Cave.

 

 Cedar Falls.

 Another view of the falls.

In all, we hiked nearly six miles along four trails including the one leading back to Ash Cave, Ohio's largest recess cave.  The cave stretches 700 feet across and is nearly 100 feet deep.  It is 90 feet to the top of the cave, where a seasonal waterfall spills over the ledge into a pool below.

We didn't get a chance to see everything during this trip and hope to return, perhaps in the spring time some year, when the waterfalls will be at their best.

While staying in Logan, Ohio, we ate at a local BBQ place called Millstone BBQ.

The online reviews were good and it was just down the road from the hotel.

The place was busy when we arrived on Monday evening.  Despite that, we were promptly seated and given menus to peruse.

It took us a while to decide what to have as so much on the menu looked good.

 I finally opted to have the Big Bad Wolf with sweet potato fries.

This was a delicious sandwich, but the bun either needed to be toasted longer, or it needed a heartier bread, as the bun fell apart after two bites and I ended up having to eat the sandwich with a knife and fork.  It was still the best tasting beef brisket I had ever eaten, though.

The Foodie Daughter decided to try the Texas Trio, an assortment of sandwiches, along with sweet potato fries.

I've had BBQ in Texas, but this far outshone anything I had there.

I'd go so far as to say this was the best BBQ I have ever had.

Composing a Beautiful Cheese Platter

You are having company over and you want to impress them with your food and hostessing skills?  A simple place to start is with this beautiful cheese platter, composed a la Ina Garten, of Barefoot Contessa fame.

Ina suggests placing large green leaves on a platter or cutting board, then arranging three cheeses, one hard, one medium, and one soft, on the leaves.  Here, I used a red-leafed lettuce as it complimented the color of the grapes.  Finally, scatter grapes or other fruit around the cheeses, allowing them to flow naturally on the platter.  If you do have mixed fruit, remember to keep like fruits together, as that makes for a more pleasing presentation.  Provide a knife for each cheese, set a plate of assorted crackers nearby, and your guests will be amazed at your culinary prowess.  And you didn't even have to cook a thing!

I'm Back!

After a long hiatus, I have returned to blogdom.  These past few months have been extraordinarily busy for me; as I have been President of the University Club at our local Big 10 University, I have recently started my own business, Photoscapes by Marilyn, and I ran for County Council. 

My tenure for office as President of the UClub is in its last days, and I was defeated in the Primary for County Council, though I am remaining active in local politics (politics: poli - meaning many and tics - meaning blood sucking arachnids).  I am still working on getting my business off the ground and am trying to turn admiration of my photographs into sales.

Now you are caught up with what has been going on in the Foodie Household.  It's good to be back!

Peonies from my garden.

Happy Birthday

Foodie Son!

Sniff, I can't believe that it was only 30 years ago that your father and I welcomed you into the world.

And I still remember the doctor's bad jokes, and the bad hospital food...

A Photo from the Foodie Daughter

I wanted to share a picture that my dear daughter took while on our trip out east last month.

She's quite the budding photographer, if I do say so myself.

Brood II cicada on phlox.

The Foodie Daughter is proud of this photo, and rightfully so.

Road Trip: The Foodie Girls' Final Destination

The Foodie Girls have been planning this trip for months and we had one destination in mind:

to visit with my good fellow foodie and blogger,
Rosie Hawthorne of Kitchens Are Monkey Business fame.  

Oh, and did I mention that Rosie is also a fellow gardener extraordinaire?

The larkspur and foxglove are beautiful.

The glass "fish pond."

Spotted leopard plant?

 

Sunset from the deck.

The Hawthornes intended to treat us with their unique Outer Banks eats while we visited with them.

First up on the menu was soft shell crabs.

These crabs are still alive - but not for long.

Mr. Hawthorne demonstrates how he prepares the crabs.

First he cuts off the face.

I thought I would be squeamish about this, but they are just aquatic bugs, so what the hey.

Then after cutting off the apron, he cuts off the gills, or dead men's fingers.

More cleaning.  Mr. Hawthorne explained that he cleans out the inner organs such as tomalley that many restaurants don't bother to remove.
Mr. Hawthorne is very particular about his food.

Our wonderful hostess, Rosie Hawthorne, records Mr. Hawthorne as he cleans a soft shell blue crab.

The plated dish.

As a landlocked landlubber, I have to admit that this dish can look intimidating to the uninitiated.

It is good, however.

Thank you, Hawthornes, for introducing us to this Outer Banks delicacy!

I awoke early the next morning and wandered about a bit before my hosts woke up.

I found this picture of this scene and had to take a picture of it.

And wouldn't you just love to have this view out your window?

But it turns out that one must earn one's keep at the Hawthornes' abode.*

Here, the Foodie Daughter is working on Rosie's latest garden project, a succulent chair.

*Just kidding, Rosie.  We had fun doing it.

Between the three of us we figured out how to successfully wrap the chicken wire and the coco fiber mat around the back of the old wicker chair.

Then came the "fun" part: trying to convince potting soil to defy gravity and stay in place.

And we began placing plants in the pockets between the slats.  We learned to break some plants apart and to cut some slats in order to fit them in.

See what I mean about gravity?

We got better as we progressed.

The finished project.

The chair was definitely back-heavy, so we made sure to place it where it would be able to lean against something and we placed a couple of pots on the seat.

Hopefully the plants will take hold and flourish as time goes on.

And now some more pictures from Rosie's beautiful, lush garden.

I have to admit that I have a bit of green-thumb envy.  It's hard not to when Rosie can grow things I cannot given that she lives in zone 8a and I live in zone 6a and that those plants absolutely flourish in those conditions.

And of course Rosie is an excellent cook. 

We were served sautéed scallops with slightly

cooked greens.

Simply delightful.

,

Of course we had to have Eggs Hawthorne, Rosie's version of Eggs Benedict.

Rosie also made us tuna melts for lunch.  Simple and satisfying.

Then it was my turn to make dinner.

Wild Mushroom Fettuccini.

On Friday morning Rosie took the Foodie Girls to Roanoke Island to see the Elizabethan Gardens.

The day started off beautiful and warm.

The replica of the Elizabeth II, one of seven ships that made the voyage to Roanoke Island in 1585.

This replica resides at Roanoke Island Festival Park.

We arrived at the Elizabethan Gardens.

The gardens were created as a tribute to the first English colonists in the New World.

The gardens were built on the site of the original colony.

An interesting history of the gardens from the website can be found here.

The statue of Queen Elizabeth I.

Carrara marble statue of Virginia Dare, the first white child born in the New World.

This path leads down to the sound.

We note that the weather has turned.

The Foodie Daughter and Rosie walk on ahead.

We entered the Woodland Garden.

We found it to be populated by gnomes.

Spanish moss grows on a tree.

A magnolia in bloom.

The magnolia tree.

The hydrangeas were just beginning to bloom.

Oakleaf hydrangea.

The rose garden.

Iris in bloom.

A tree draped in a flowering vine.

As we headed back across the sound to the Outer Banks, we encountered rain.

Before returning to Rosie's home, we stopped at the beach.

The temperature had dropped ten degrees from the time we had started out.

The Wright Brothers Monument is off in the distance.

A beautiful sunset from Rosie's deck.

Flowers from Rosie's garden.

How is this for a delicious meal: 

deep-fried scallops and broccoli salad?

I'm loving it.

Between meals I stepped outside and noticed this warning posted at the front door.

Don't mess with the Hawthornes!

 

Middle Hawthorne caught a few speckled trout Friday morning.

Mr. Hawthorn then cleaned the fish and baked them before frying them for dinner.

I have to admit that I normally don't care for fish as I find it to be too "fishy."

But this was amazing.

Rosie has a chandelier hanging in her tree!

Rosie and the Foodie Girl come out of the Witless Protection Program long enough to model their new matching T-shirts.

I was asked to protect the identities of the innocent and not-so-innocent.

The Foodie Daughter chose to remain in hiding.

The Foodie Girls reluctantly said goodbye to our gracious hosts and returned home to Southern Indiana.

We had a wonderful time with the Hawthornes.

They treated us like royalty and yet like family at the same time.

We hope that the Hawthornes will choose to visit with us sometime soon.

We'd love to return the hospitality and show them around B-town.