Sunday, October 26, 2008

Balsamic Glazed Chicken over a Sweet Corn, Basil, and Bacon Puree

Balsamic Glazed Chicken over a Sweet Basil, Corn, and Bacon Puree

Here's what's funny. The greatest dishes come from nothing. Seriously. I can go back and forth all day in my mind and I'm never as creative and innovative as what happened here. All I did was go into the kitchen - and 20 minutes later here's what I had. I must admit, I was hungry and tired - so the goal was something quick, easy, and fulfilling. This took the cake. It was a blast to make - it's going in my aresenol of dishes - and it tasted freaking fantastic!

The Ingredients

2 chicken breasts, boneless and skinless

½ cup of balsamic vinegar

¼ cup of olive oil

Salt and pepper

The Method

Place balsamic vinegar in a sauce pan on a medium flame until it reduces into a thick syrup and by half. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. On a medium high flame allow an oven proof skillet to get hot. Add oil. When oil begins to waft add chicken breasts. Once in the pan season one side with salt and pepper. When golden brown, turn over, season the other side with salt and pepper and place into oven until cooked through. Glaze chicken as much as you’d like with the balsamic reduction.

The Ingredients

2 cups of frozen corn kernels

½ cup of heavy cream

2 tablespoons of butter

2 tablespoons of chopped basil

5 strips of bacon

Salt and pepper

The Method

Cut bacon into cubes and cook over medium heat. When done remove from heat leaving the drippings in the pan. Add corn and cook until heated through. Pour into a blender and mix with cream and butter – add a pinch of salt and pepper. Return to the pan and over a low heat fold in basil and reserved bacon. Spoon onto a plate and place chicken breast on top. Garnish with basil.

Enjoy,

-DTW

One of the final plating images - then I started eating.





















Another pic of me eating...I couldn't get enough.











It started with balsamic vinegar - which I always keep on hand for a quick salad dressing!

57 comments:

Unknown said...

you always cook a great meal... what a treat... :)

Rosa's Yummy Yums said...

I love your blog's new look...

A wonderful dish! Scrumptious!

Cheers,

Rosa

Katrina said...

I love every word in that title, so it has to be delicious! Been eating salad everyday and just putting balsamic on it. YUM!
The blog looks great!

Peter M said...

Cervantes wrote: "hunger is the best sauce".

Neccesity and hunger can make us whip up the tastiest stuff...good on ya.

Robin said...

Ok your side dish sounds fantastic. Anything with bacon and cream- Yum! Oh and butter too! Love your site, just found it today so I will have to cruise around and see what else you have in here. The photo shoot post was so much fun- wow he took a ton of pictures, I did not notice the red eyes!

Christo Gonzales said...

I agree the corn side sounds so delicious and I agree with the brick wall shots, the ones where you are less posed are the best....

The Short (dis)Order Cook said...

That looks awfully good for someone who was feeling tired and just headed to the kitchen to improvise!

Nicole said...

Well young man, you have been busy! New blog look, photo shoots, restaurant reviews and of course all the great food! This dish looks delish. And I love the new clean layout of the blog.

Lisa magicsprinkles said...

Basalmic vinegar, corn, basil and bacon? I'm sooo hungry! Impromptu recipes are almost always the best. The hard part is remembering what you did or writing it down so you can recreate it! Thank goodness for blogs! Thanks for stopping by mine the other day.

Barbara GF said...

That corn puree looks tantalizing, Darius!

And I love your photo shoot — you look great, especially the ones of you smiling on the couch. ;-)

Best of luck to you!

dessex said...

now that looks good....you need a book or something

Clumbsy Cookie said...

What a fastantic plate of food! I love all the flavours!

Anonymous said...

Holy cow! Darius it looks fantastic over here! The blog looks very clean and attractive- it really makes the photography pop!

Speaking of photography- the pics from the shoot look great!

Unknown said...

oooh, so appetizing... any leftovers? :)

Dragon said...

Hunger is always the precursor for my best creations. Guess it works for you too. This meal looks wonderful!

Allie said...

That puree looks fabulous! Oh how I miss bacon...

NKP said...

The best meals come from what you are inspired to eat at the time.
I love balsamic vinegar too.
The photoshoot looks great. I like the ones where you are smiling the best.
Cheers.

Debbie said...

The chicken dish looks great and I bet tastes even better!! The photo shoot pictures are very nice. The best ones were when you smile. You have a great smile!!!

tavolini said...

I love the corn side!! I'm a big fan of how you quickly through together very gourmet dishes--efficiency AND class :)

Laura said...

Oh my, does this sound fantastic!!! I just found your blog through Prudence Pennywise and I'm so glad I did. I will definitely be trying this dish (and BTW, your photos look great!).

brneyedgal967 said...

OMG this looks soooo good. I just scanned your recipes and will definitely bookmark your site as a cooking go-to when I'm out of ideas or tired of the same ol' thing.

What kind of wizardry would you do to add a new twist to an old standby - the pot roast? Here's the one I make:

http://thecolorofhome.blogspot.com/2008/10/tale-of-roast-beast-and-messy-cook.html

Would love to see YOUR take on this comfort food.

Maria said...

I love balsamic! It makes everything better!!

Anonymous said...

This looks so yummy! Love the bacon puree.

vanillasugarblog said...

Now this is a dish of flavor!
I love what one can do with the balsamic.
I must try that puree!!
Your new look is way better!
Brighter, which is good

Pat @ Mille Fiori Favoriti said...

Balsamic vinegar is good with pork too! I love the sweet yet pungent taste of the vinegar used as a glaze.

Sylvia said...

Oh my ...This corn pure is drive me crazy ...absolutely delicious Yummy, Yummy.You are a creative man , hungry is not my best friend, I ate anything that i found in the refrigerator, mainly yogurt :(

Dave Van Buren said...

lol.. I've never used balsamic vinegar. I think your recipes are crushing mine. I might just have to steal some... Nice work.

Sandie said...

The sounds great, from the Balsamic glaze right down to the puree...absolutely mouthwatering!

Pam said...

The chicken looks delicious but that corn and bacon puree is calling my name. Great recipe.

Erin said...

Always great to encounter another chicago food blogger!

Balsamic and chicken is a natural home run in my book. The idea of pureeing the side dish is very interesting. It sort of reminds me of a take on succotash (which I'll be attempting this week: fried green tomato succotash to be exact) but with a twist. Nice!

Prudy said...

Oh Darius, I think this is my favorite thing you've ever posted. Outstanding!

Anonymous said...

Man!!! I almost found a recipe I thought I could follow. I was getting a little excited when I saw the instructions for the chicken. Then I scrolled down to the puree.... that was another story. I'll keep checking!

Anonymous said...

Bacon puree? Are you serious? OMG. Must. Make. This. Thank you!

Anonymous said...

What I enjoy about your site is that the recipes are simple enough for a novice cook like me to handle.

I am sooooo making this dish a.s.a.p.

I absolutely love basil...I plan on starting a small basil garden in my kitchen so that I can always have it on hand. It's amazing the range of dishes you can create with basil!

I visited a restaurant in Houston over the summer and the drink I ordered was Fresh Basil Lemonade...sounds weird but it was so refreshing!

I added you to my linkies awhile ago and I will be stopping by more often for recipe ideas!

Lela said...

This looks amazing! Printing..... My family loved the beef noodles you posted a while back. I agree with Amethyst - these recipes are good AND real.

In other news... nice updated look! How is it you can grab the same theme I'm using and make it look soooo much better?

Anonymous said...

This looks divine! I'm writing my shopping list now to try this out. WOW! I bet it was hard resisting the urge to lick the plate clean.

xoxox Amy

Sandy said...

Looks so tender and moist. I have a similar recipe - YUMMY!

Anonymous said...

That looks amazing and so delicious. I am drooling by just looking at it

Noob Cook said...

what a simple but satisfying dish! :)

Anonymous said...

Nice! Anything with bacon in it is a friend of mine.

Anonymous said...

Very nice new look here! It's great! And being the fan of balsamic vinegar I am, your dish sounds quite tasty.

Jersey Girl Cooks said...

Awesome! I love this puree to go with the chicken.

Jeanne said...

Sweetcorn basil and bacon puree? You are killing me here! Sounds absolutely fantastic and easy to make. Nice site re-design, by the way :) and sorry I missed you in Chicago. Next time!

Carmen Cooks said...

BACON PUREE! Sounds like my type of thing! :) Looks delicious!

Mary-Irene said...

looks great!!

Jameil said...

YUMMMMMMYYYY! i think i'm going to try a variation on the corn puree today!

Dining Alone said...

What a great idea!! I love balsamic and everyone loves bacon :)

Tafari said...

Mmmm, that puree looks awesome!

Chou said...

Darius--great new look! I just finished reading Heat, and one of the things that struck me was the use of sauce under things--just like you!

The CDM said...

These are my kind of recipes. Major digs here.

Gloria Baker said...

Darius I love your food pics!! Im hungry look soyummy!!! xGloria

Snooty Primadona said...

I found your blog through my friend Tammy's blog @ The Color of Home and am so thrilled I did! I can't wait to try the corn sauce under... well, anything! The pictures are fabulous too...

Also, you have a precious family and look to be a very lucky man indeed. Love, love all the pictures! Most of our family is gone and OH! what I'd give to have a big family like yours.

So, I can't help myself. I'm adding you to both of my blogrolls!

michael, claudia and sierra said...

beautiful food and flavor combos.

test it comm said...

This sounds so tasty!

Anonymous said...

Lord have mercy!
This is tantalizing. I honestly believe you are so good a cook
Sie sind sehr gut!

Jaime said...

wow, that looks amazing!

Anonymous said...

Hello,nice post thanks for sharing?. I just joined and I am going to catch up by reading for a while. I hope I can join in soon.