Chicken Scarborough Fair

Gingerbee's Note:

...parsley, sage, rosemary, no thyme. Recently, I needed an elegant way to serve guests ordinary chicken for a special occasion. I dug out my Pavoratti CD and blasted my creative juices to flowing and came up with this recipe. It got raves! Hope you will try it :)

• Total Time: 1 hrs 30 mins
• Prep Time: 1 hrs 10 mins
• Cook Time: 20 mins

Ingredients:

Servings: 8

• 4 whole chicken breasts , halved lengthwise
• 2 cups buttermilk
• ¼ cup butter
• 2 medium onions , sliced thin
• 4 cloves garlic , sliced thin
• 4 strips bacon , chopped small
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon pepper
• 2 cups marsala wine or 2 cups sherry wine
• 2 tablespoons flour
• 1 teaspoon Italian parsley (chopped)
• 1 teaspoon dried sage (powder or crushed leaves)
• 1 tablespoon dried rosemary (crushed)
• 1 (4 ounce) package Philadelphia Cream Cheese

Directions:

1. To prepare chicken: Use a whole breast (1/2 breast per person) with the back removed, split lengthwise at the breast bone.
2. Remove skin, salt and pepper each piece.
3. Place in a large bowl.
4. Add 2 cups buttermilk to tenderize for about an hour.
5. In a black iron skillet on the stovetop, over medium heat, melt 1/2 stick of butter.
6. Add onions, garlic and bacon; cook just until onions are translucent about 7 minutes.
7. Remove from pan and set aside.
8. Place buttermilk-coated pieces of chicken in hot skillet to quickly get some color.
9. Remove and repeat with the remaining chicken.
10. Cook just until pieces have a nice golden brown color, approximately 5 minutes; remove and set aside.
11. Add wine (sherry) to deglaze the brown bits of chicken flavors from the pan, stirring to loosen.
12. Let this cook for 5 minutes to burn off the alcohol.
13. Add onion mixture, parsley, sage, rosemary.
14. Stir in cream cheese.
15. Dissolve flour in 1/4 cup of water; add to the sauce.
16. Cook until just slightly thickened.
17. Adjust salt and pepper to taste.
18. Arrange the chicken pieces in a 16" roasting dish and pour the sauce over the chicken.
19. Cover with aluminum foil and cook in a 350 degree oven for 20 minutes.
20. It makes an amazing sauce to serve over rice.
21. **You can substitute the wine or sherry with either apple or orange juice, add slivered almonds or mushrooms for diversity.

Reviews

[ratherbeswimmin']

Gingerbee--this is such a yummy tasting dish. The sauce is what makes this so great and it is the sage that I particularly like. I made this for dinner with some friends. Very elegant and really very easy to make. Everyone was impressed and thought it tasted great. This one goes in my entertaining file. Thanks so much :)