So I recently got a friend request for my blog on rachaelraymag.com. Truth be told, I totally forgot I ever had a blog on that website! When I went on to check out my friend request, I read through the limited posts I had. I started the blog right after I saw Julie and Julia in the movies and decided to cook my way through Rachael Ray's Big Orange Book (BOB). I have cooked a good majority of those recipes but I never blogged most of the recipe wins and fails. I did however blog about this one recipe that I think about all the time. It was so incredibly delicious. I'm going to share the post with you all because its just funny. I love my August 2009 self for not knowing what scallions were, so adorable. I also chuckled at myself reading it so I figured it was worth sharing. And look guys, Jon was only my boyfriend then! Haha.
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I had some leftover chicken breasts from a casserole I made a few nights ago and decided I'd find a recipe that had chicken so I could use it before it got freezer burn. Luckily for me, Rachael's Big Orange Book had lots to choose from. I flipped to the index and this dish jumped out at me. Chicken- Bacon-Wrapped with bleu cheese and pecans. Hmmmm. I flipped to the ingredients and was happy to see I had everything I needed besides scallions, bleu cheese, pecans and mustard. I had to go out anyways, so I was excited to go to the store to get the components for my first dish.
On the way to the store, my boyfriend asked me what I needed to get. I told him and he immediately said "No, no scallions!" Anytime we've gone anywhere that had scallions we always ask for it without. I don't think either of us has ever stopped to try the scallions, so I figured this was as good a time as any. I told him "Yes scallions" and reminded him in a firm tone that he promised his support. He shut right up and we kept driving.
I got to the store, quickly found the bleu cheese crumbles and pecans. I then realized I needed toothpicks to hold the chicken together. I searched for a few minutes until I saw an employee and asked for help. He ran off to look. In the meantime, I found the toothpicks. He came back to me with skewers in his hand, letting me know they were 99 cents. I had found toothpicks that were $5. He said I should take the skewers. I explained they were going in the oven, and it wouldn't work. I thanked him and moved on to the scallions.
I searched near the onions, celery and the herbs and couldn't find it anywhere. I asked another employee who was stocking the vegetables and he said he'd never heard of scallions. I've only ever seen scallions cut up so I frankly didn't know what they looked like whole either. I searched some more, but due to a time constraint, I had to leave without my scallions, much to Jon's merriment.
Once we got home, I quickly realized that in between the drama of the toothpicks and scallions, I forgot the mustard. The mustard was for the gravy, so I just decided to make the gravy sans mustard. C'est la vie!
I was pleasantly surprised to see that the dish itself was super easy to make. It called for an ovenproof skillet so you could brown it on the stove then move it into the oven. I was nervous that my expensive, non stick skillet was not ovenproof. So I just moved the chicken into my one glass baking pan. That left me open to make the gravy in the pan that had some yummy chicken and bacon remains on the bottom. The gravy was delicious. The chicken came out super tender and the bleu cheese didn't shout at you, it was a subtle compliment. I also don't love nuts, but in this dish they were just some tasty crunches here and there from the chopped toasted pecans.
What did Jon think? He ate a bowl of cereal before the dinner was made and said he forgot I was cooking tonight, convenient. He did end up eating half of the chicken and was pleasantly surprised that his hatred for bleu cheese and pecans didn't matter here. He especially loved the gravy.
The verdict is that Rachael Ray is awesome.
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Here's the recipe guys!
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/rachael-ray/bacon-wrapped-chicken-with-blue-cheese-and-pecans-recipe/index.html
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