#87: Cook a meal I have not made once a week – round 14

[cptntiller]

Chicken Bacon Roulades


Ingredients:

• 4 shallots, thinly sliced
• 10 bacon slices (about 1/2 pound)
• 4 skinless boneless chicken breast halves (about 1 1/2 pounds total)
• Lemon pepper seasoning to taste (or ground black pepper with a little lemon zest)
• 6 Tbsp grated Parmesan (about 1 ounce)
• 1 Tbps olive oil
• 1 clove of garlic, minced
• 1/3 cup dry white wine
• 2 Tbsp unsalted butter
• 1 1/2 Tbsp flour
• 1 1/4 cups chicken broth
• 1/4 cup heavy cream [Now get She's So Heavy by the beatles stuck in your head.]

Directions:

1. Working in batches, cook the bacon over medium heat in an ovenproof skillet [if you're me, you can use the pan you have, and unscrew the meltable handle and put the parts that won't melt in the oven. Yup. I'm crazy], until lightly brown but still flexible (not crisp). Place the bacon on paper towels to drain.
2. Cook the shallots in the remaining bacon fat over low heat, stirring, until softened. Transfer the shallots to a bowl or something that lets the fat, oil, grease, etc stay in the pan. Preheat oven to 300°F.
3. Place each chicken breast half between 2 sheets of plastic wrap. With smooth side of a meat pounder pound each breast to 1/8-inch thickness. [If like me, you do not have a meat pounder and the stores are all closed, a sherry bottle works surprisingly well.] Discard plastic from boned side of each breast. Sprinkle chicken with lemon pepper (or ground black pepper and a little lemon zest) and salt. Place 2 1/2 slices of bacon lengthwise (parallel with grain of flesh) along middle of each breast. Top with shallots and Parmesan. Using plastic wrap to help you, tightly roll up each breast lengthwise, tucking in the ends to enclose the filling. Secure seams with wooden toothpicks.
4. Add 1 Tbsp olive oil to reserved fat in skillet and heat over medium high heat. Brown roulades on all sides, about 5 minutes total.
Transfer the skillet to middle of oven and bake roulades until just cooked through, 20 to 25 minutes. [You could totally put them in a different container if you're not insane enough to unscrew the handle and your pan isn't oven safe]
5. Transfer chicken to a plate with tongs and keep warm, covered with aluminum foil. Pour off fat from skillet. (The handle is hot. If you couldn't figure this out, I can't help you.) Add wine to the skillet and deglaze over medium high heat, scraping up brown bits. Boil wine until reduced to about 1 tablespoon. Add garlic and butter. Cook mixture over medium low heat, stirring, for 1 minute. Add flour and cook roux, stirring, 1 minute. Add broth and cream and bring to a boil, whisking. Simmer the sauce, whisking, 2 minutes.
6. Pour through a fine mesh sieve into a small saucepan. Keep sauce warm. Remove the wooden toothpicks from roulades and cut crosswise into 1/2-inch slices. Spoon some sauce in center of each of 4 plates and arrange roulade slices decoratively on sauce.

Results: This is the best recipe I have made so far. It was so delicious my mouth smacked me. In it I learned I need to learn the best way to cut chicken, and also how to pound it without destroying it. But It turned out deliciously, both the night of making and lunch the next day. I highly recommend giving it a shot. So tasty. I am salivating at it's memory.

Recipe from Simply Recipes

Comments

[mikiedoggie.livejournal.com]

This looks sooooo good. I heart it. BACON!

[toddpage.livejournal.com]

YAY!

I HEART BACON TOO!

It's wonderful.

[paterson-si.livejournal.com]

Feed me.

[toddpage.livejournal.com]

Seymour, Feed Me NOW!


:)

Come to Boston! I'll be happy too!

[paterson-si.livejournal.com]

Boston seems a definite "target". :)

[toddpage.livejournal.com]

Woot!!

Y'all are welcome to crash at mi casa.

[paterson-si.livejournal.com]

Sweet! :) We'll take pics!

Same goes for you and Eslovenia. :)

[toddpage.livejournal.com]

Awesome!!

That would be a seriously good time.

[joebehrsandiego.livejournal.com]

Saved this one for my own use. Yum.

[toddpage.livejournal.com]

I hope you likes it!

[fitfool.livejournal.com]

mmm...that looks delicious! For pounding meat, my favorite implement is a simple rubber mallet. (you can get a cheap one from the hardware store) It has a larger surface area than most meat tenderizer hammer things and the rubber seems to keep from pulverizing the meat. Or maybe it's just more of the meat is being pounded with each strike so that I end up pounding it fewer times.

[toddpage.livejournal.com]

This has been my favorite so far!

Thanks so much for the suggestion. I have a hardware store that I can access for that! Then I won't need a sherry bottle! Yay!