• 4 split chicken, skin removed
  • 12 slices of bacon
  • Handful (about 3/4 of a cup) of fresh chopped herbs
  • (I used Thai basil, parsley and basil)
  • Zest of two oranges
  • Zest of one lemon
  • 1/4 cup olive oil
  • 1 tabelspoon kosher salt
  • Freshly ground black pepper
  • Pan Sauce
  • 1/2 cup dry white wine
  • Splash of sherry vinegar
  • 1 cup chicken stock or water
  • 2 tablespoon. salted cold butter

What could be better than the smell of chicken smothered in herbs and wrapped in bacon roasting away in the oven? How about a cool rainy day, a nice clean house, the smell of chicken smothered in herbs and wrapped in bacon, a cup of tea, a warm blanket and my sweet Isabel on my lap purring away?

Had a really nice productive day and I sure got a lot done. Then it was time to prepare dinner.

I have a new obsession… amyglaze.com. I was recently looking through Amy’s website (with a napkin in hand of course– helps when drooling).  I came across one of Amy’s amazing recipes. This was a fresh ham with an herb and bacon crust. yum!

With four chicken breasts waiting for my attention, I knew I had to try this.

My herb garden (which is basically a large pretty pot filled with different kinds of herbs) found outside my kitchen door has served our family well this spring, summer and fall.  I had some citrus I had to use up as well as a few pieces of applewood smoked bacon.

I grabbed a large handful of Thai basil, basil, and parsley and headed into the heart of my home — our kitchen. You could bascially use any herbs in you have as long as they go well with poultry.

I moved my oven rack to the middle of my oven. I preheated my oven to 375 degrees F.

In a large bowl I combined my chopped herbs, orange and lemon zest, salt, pepper, and olive oil.

I placed each chicken breast to of my broiler pan fitted with its grate.

I placed 1/4 of my herb mixture on top of each chicken breast. (I removed the skin earlier).

I cut each slice of bacon in half and arranged several slices on to of each chciken breast overlapping just a bit.

I placed the chicken in the oven and let it roast for 45 minutes to an hour until the bacon was nice and crispy and a meat thermometer read 160 degrees in the thickest part of the breast.

For the pan sauce:

Once your chicken breast have reached 160 degrees remove from the oven and transfer to a plate to rest. Pour the drippings into a saucepan; skin off the fat. Add white wine, sherry vinegar and chicken stock. Bring up to a boil and then add butter. Turn off the heat and stir. Do not continue to heat your sauce or your butter will separate.

We enjoyed our roasted chicken with a nice portion of mashed potatoes and peas. There was enough  leftover chicken to adorn two nice mixed salads with the next day!

God bless you, Amy!

Elise xo