Fancied up Chicken and Potatoes

[fuzzyred]

Well, this is going to be a journey today. I decided I would make Bacon-Cheese Topped Chicken and Chili-Seasoned Potato Wedges for dinner this week, but I'm working overtime tonight so I won't be cooking until after 7pm. Both recipes are from my tasteofhome 2010 Annual Contest Winning Recipes cookbook (I think; will check when I get home) and they will be posted below. I will add any thoughts and variations tonight after I've made and eaten them.


Bacon-Cheese Topped Chicken
Ingredients
1/2 cup dijon mustard
1/2 cup honey
4 1/2 teaspoons canola oil, divided
1/2 teaspoon lemon juice
4 boneless skinless chicken breast halves
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon black pepper
Dash paprika
2 cups sliced fresh mushrooms
2 tablespoons butter
1 cup (4 ounces) shredded Monterey Jack cheese
1 cup (4 ounces) shredded cheddar cheese
8 bacon strips, partially cooked
2 teaspoons minced fresh parsley

Directions
1. In a small bowl, combine the mustard, honey, 1 1/2 teaspoons oil, and lemon juice. Pour 1/2 cup into a large resealable bag; add the chicken. Seal the bag and turn to coat; refrigerate for 2 hours. Cover and refrigerate the remaining marinade.
2. Drain and discard the marinade from the chicken. In a large skillet over medium heat, brown the chicken in the remaining oil on all sides. Sprinkle with the salt, pepper, and paprika. Transfer to a greased 11-in. by 7-in. baking dish.
3. In the same skillet, saute the mushrooms in butter until tender. Spoon reserved marinade over chicken. Top with cheeses and mushrooms. Place bacon strips in a crisscross pattern over chicken.
4. Bake, uncovered, at 375 degrees Fahrenheit for 20-25 minutes or until a meat thermometer reads 170 degrees Fahrenheit. Sprinkle with parsley. Yield: 4 servings.

Chili-Seasoned Potato Wedges
Ingredients
1 tablespoon onion spoon mix
1 tablespoon chili powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon pepper
4 large baking potatoes
2 tablespoons canola oil

Directions
1. In a large resealable plastic bag, combine the soup mix, chili powder, salt, garlic powder, and pepper. Cut each potato into eight wedges; place in the bag and shake to coat.
2. Arrange in a single layer in a greased 15-in.x10-in.x1-in. baking pan. Drizzle with oil.
3. Bake, uncovered, at 425 degrees Fahrenheit for 12-20 minutes on each side or until crisp. Yield: 8 servings.


Thoughts and Variations
Chicken
This was a fairly tasty recipe, though I always forget that I don't really like the taste of mustard. Other than leaving out the parsley, there were no ingredient substitutions this time, though I did only marinate the chicken for one hour, and I cooked the mushrooms in the fat from the bacon, then wiped the pan and browned the chicken. It seemed to turn out just fine, although "partially cooked" is not really a good indicator for what to do with the bacon. It finishes cooking some in the oven, but I cooked it to a degree that would have been unedible if I was just frying bacon. My recommendation is to cook the bacon to the point *just* before it would be ready for someone who likes fatty bacon.

This wasn't a hard recipe to put together, though it did have a fair number of moving parts, so it was within my skill range but starting to stretch it a bit. It probably didn't help that I was doing all the chicken prep while the potatoes were cooking, so I had two things to focus on.

Potato Thoughts
I made it as is, using russet potatoes for my baking potatoes. I should have cut the chili powder about in half, and just added more of the other spices, as this ended up on the high range of tolerable to me. The potatoes did crisp up nicely, and the seasoning was good, but I'd definitely put less chili powder next time. Or maybe sub it completely for something like paprika. I also needed to grease the baking sheet more than I did, since the potatoes stuck to it some when I went to flip them.

Overall, rather tasty and would definitely make again, perhaps when I can finally have family over again?

Comments

[arthur_p_dent]

Thoughts...

Mustard: Dijon definitely has a stronger flavour, so if you’re not a fan of mustard in the first place it will stand out more. Plus, that’s a lot of Dijon to use in the first place. I can’t think of a replacement off the top of my head, but when I make this I’m going to cut the amount by at least half - hopefully it will balance better.

Bacon: “Partially cooked” is not a particularly useful direction - leaves far too much to interpretation. Your description is far better, since most people can picture in their head what that would look like.

Potatoes: I wonder what you mean by “high range of tolerable”. Do you mean heat? If so, what kind of chili powder are you using, because it shouldn’t really have much in the way of spicyness to it. That notwithstanding, paprika would be an excellent substitute if you wanted to go that route.

Looking forward to trying these out soon.
Thanks =]

[fuzzyred]

Ahh, that makes sense. I generally just use what the recipe says. Maybe regular mustard would have been better. If you cut the amount of mustard, you will just have less marinade, and so less will be left over for spooning. (This is fine, I poured slightly more than half a cup in the bag and I still had tons for spooning over.)

I'm glad my bacon description worked, I wasn't sure it would make any sense.

Yes, I meant tolerable heat-wise. I never can figure out whether recipes mean "chili-powder seasoning mix" or "straight hot chili powder". Since I don't have the former at home on any given day, but do have the latter, I used legit hot chili powder.

[arthur_p_dent]

Regular mustard would not be better - different flavour profile. Just using less of the Dijon should keep some of the flavour, but the honey will temper it. Once I can taste it I’m thinking I should be able to suggest a substitute - I’ll keep you posted.

North American recipes will virtually always intend you to use chili powder seasoning mix (I would expect it to be specifically stated if they didn’t). Based on what you’re actually using, I’d feel comfortable saying that you should always half the amount called for in any recipe, especially if your tolerance for heat is on the lower side.

[spiralicious]

I'm going to have to try this!

[fuzzyred]

I hope it works well for you!