Irish Chicken Connemara

Chicken Connemara

       
          I recently went on a family trip to Ireland last fall to visit the homeland of my father's side of the family. It was an amazing trip, and I will soon post a few pictures and stories regarding this travel adventure. Growing up half Irish the only few dishes we ate were your simple stews, meat and potatoes, and other dishes here and there. One of my memorable dishes while visiting Dublin was a dish called Chicken Connemara. Not so sure it is of traditional Irish cuisine, but when I saw that the dish contained cream, bacon, and whiskey, I was all in. I was actually surprised at how light this dish was. I was thinking that the cream would make it heavier; however the combination of the cream and whiskey I feel actually made this a light dish. I went to the restaurants website to find out what all was in it. It listed only: cream, mushrooms, bacon, and Irish mist. I had no Irish mist so I substituted Irish whiskey with a little bit of honey. This turned out to be one of my newest favorites that I will be making quite a bit. Sadly the picture above doesn’t do it justice.  You cannot see how creamy it was.  Something I need to work on is my food photography.

Ingredients:

• 3 strips of bacon
• 2 boneless/skinless chicken breasts
• 1 tbs olive oil
• 1/2 white onion
• 1/2 cup mushrooms
• 1/3 cup of Irish whiskey
• 1 tbs honey
• 1 tbs rosemary
• Pinch oregano
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• Salt/pepper

            In a large skillet over medium high heat cook bacon on one side of the pan.  On the other side of the same skillet drizzle the olive oil and cook the chicken breasts at the same time. Once bacon is crisp remove and drain on paper towel lined plate.  Keep cooking the chicken until browned on both sides.  Remove chicken and drain off most of the grease. Meanwhile dice the 1/2 onion and the 1/2 cup mushrooms and sauté them in the same skillet.  Mix the whiskey and honey in a bowel. Pour in the mixture and simmer on low to medium heat until the liquid reduces a bit.  Stir in the heavy cream, rosemary, and oregano and mix.  Place the chicken back, cover, and simmer on low for about 10-15 minutes.  Salt and pepper to taste.  Serve with rice or roasted potatoes.  Serves 2-3 people.


P.S. just thought I would capture the awesomeness that is BACON!!