Wednesday, August 17, 2011

Chicken with Sage Bacon Cream Sauce


   
How do we know when the seasons change?  This can be importent because increasingly we are told to eat based on the season. Eat what is fresh now, reap the harvest and bring it to the table. Tender pea shoots in the spring, ripe tomatoes in the summer, hearty game in the fall.  Eating fresh ingredients is essential to good cooking and seasonal ingredients are freshest, but what if I don't feel like eating summer fare in the summer.  What if I am tired of bright, colorful flavors.  What if I am ready to move on to something more hearty, more rustic?
    
Recently, I ate at a restaurant that literally titles itself after the seasons. It tries to stay so up to date that it changes its appetizer weekly. There's nothing wrong with that really, it's a current concept and they are riding that train. However, what if I don't feel like what's current. We may still be in the heat of the August, but I'm tired of mango salsas to go with my grilled fish. Summer vegetables have been fresh and beautiful, but I've never liked zucchini and I don't need any more corn.
   
That said, I hate when stores display Christmas items in October or clothing stores put out the fall gear before the end of summer. I am just not in the mood to buy a sweater on the way to the pool, and the last thing I want to see is Santa Claus before Halloween.  How do I balance living in the season and moving on to the next?  On this night, perusing the menu at this seasonal restaurant, I stopped on the pork loin with Cremini mushrooms and polenta. These flavors of butter and cream, roasted comfort goodness, speak to me of scarves and sweaters, not shorts and sun glasses. Had this menu succeeded in sneaking Christmas tree lights into my shopping cart?

The recipe below is from my local paper this summer.  It may not be boar ragu or shepherd's pie, but its cream and bacon illicited a comfort response that a tropical salsa would not.  The pan sauce is the key, and it coated my insides with the savory goodness I needed.  The sage bacon cream sauce is the perfect autumn bridge.  The sage reminds us of the garden, while the bacon and cream transition us to coming cool weather and the hearty dishes of fall.  It fit where I was and what I wanted, not just in place, but also in mood and emotion.  So, listen always to exhortations to cook with the freshest ingredients, but listen to yourself in choosing which of those ingredients will meet your needs that evening.  I hope this recipe will meet your needs one night.  Adapted from the the Wahsington Post, June 29, 2011.  Serves 2.
   
Ingredients:
2 strips bacon, diced
1 tablespoon butter
1 tbsp olive oil
2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
salt
pepper
1/4 cup corn meal
1 tbsp minced shallots
1/4 cup dry white wine
1/4 cup chicken stock
1 tbsp chopped parsely
1 tsp minced sage
1/4 cup heavy cream
   
Preparation:
In a large saute pan over medium-high heat, cook the bacon until crisp.  Remove the bacon and if insufficient bacon fat is present to saute the chicken breasts, add the oil and butter.  Season the chicken with salt and pepper and then coat with corn meal, shaking off any excess.  Add the breasts and cook until starting to brown on the bottom.  Turn the breasts and reduce the heat to medium.  Add the shallots and cook a couple of minutes to soften.  Add the wine and stock and scrape up any bits on the bottom of the pan.  When the chicken is cooked through, remove to a plate.  Stir in the parsley, sage and cream and cook a few minutes to warm.  If the sauce needs to be loosened, add a little more stock or wine.  Plate the chicken breasts and spoon the sauce on top.
   

top ten pictures from the week ~ 18 august 11

It pains me to tell you this...
seen on honey 'n fizz
but I will anyway
seen on gingerella
the top ten was hard work this week...
seen on wish you were here
I had to persevere and keep looking, looking...I was disappointed it took so long to put together, but what can you do?
seen on the style files
just go with what you've got...which is good, don't get me wrong, but it was  hard to find...it's usually a breeze. Well, breeze-ish.
seen on the design files
I don't think the fact that I've been difficult to please or my patience threshold is low has got anything to do with a lack of sugar. No, I won't hear of it!
seen on my pear tree house
it's only been three days and I suspect there's so much kicking around in my body it's going to take a lot longer than that for withdrawal nastiness to kick in!
seen on greige
but...reading this post by Jane from My Pear Tree House certainly made up for a dearth of pretty pictures. Please go and read it if you haven't already. A wonderful attitude and quite a lot of wisdom waits for you there.

Chris and Luciterra on tour in BC!

  Just came back from the third of four weeks of shows that have taken us from Vancouver Island to the BC interior. We had major time slots at Basscoast Project, Shambhala Music Festival and Big Time Out.





We've been performing a bangin half hour set, and were given the honour of a full hour time slot at Shambhala! This weekend we will condense that down to fifteen minutes of heavy hitting fusion bellydance and circus arts.








There's no place like home.


Hi there!

So, as I told you on my last entry, I'm at home for a couple of weeks! And the best part about it is that I can have a lovely time with my family and friends from here.




On Sunday night, after I arrived to Málaga's Airport, I had a lovely dinner at the beach with my mum and stepfather. I finally ate grilled sardines, my favourite summer meal!! So delicious!

And then, on monday night I had a very special reunion with my friend Alex and my cousin Rocío. It's been a year since the last time I saw Rocío, as she's been at India, Thailand and Mexico during all this year... and I've missed her so much!



Today I had a walk around the twon center, and maybe tonight I'm seeing some other friends around here, but before that I'll visit my grandparents... I've missing them so much too.  Anyway, I looked today like this:

Junko Mizuno's t-shirt - Kidrobot
Skirt - Bershka
Belt - Zara
Socks - Primark
Shoes - offbrand

It's hot but I'm in a very good company nowadays! :D!

Enjoy!