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Chicken Bonne Femme

"Good woman's chicken" and its variations (chicken Clemenceau and chicken Pontalba) is one of the best dishes in the Creole cookbook. There is little agreement on how it's prepared, but potatoes and garlic are always part of the recipe. This one evolved in my kitchen from the very good version at Antoine's, with inspiration from the super-garlicky, great bonne femme at Tujague's.

• 4 slices bacon, cut into 1 inch squares
• 2 chickens, about 3 1/2 lbs., quartered
• 2 Tbs. flour
• 1/2 cup ham, cut into tiny dice
• 1 cups chopped green onion tops
• 1 cup chopped yellow onion
• 2 cups sliced fresh mushrooms
• 1 cup dry white wine
• 1 Tbs. Worcestershire sauce
• 1/4 tsp. Tabasco
• 2 lbs. white potatoes, peeled and cut into three-quarter-inch dice
• Vegetable oil for frying
• 1 stick butter
• 8 cloves garlic, chopped
• Salt and pepper to taste

1. Fry the bacon in a large skillet until crisp, then remove. Leave the fat in the skillet.

2. Salt and pepper the chicken quarters, then dust lightly with flour. Raise the heat to high and brown the chicken pieces in the bacon fat on all sides. Remove the chicken pieces and keep warm.

3. In the same pan sauté the ham, green onions, and yellow onions until the latter turn translucent. Add mushrooms, wine, Worcestershire, and Tabasco, and bring it up to a boil. After a minute, lower to a simmer.

4. In a separate skillet, fry the potatoes in 375-degree oil until very lightly browned. Drain them well and add to the ham, onions, etc. This is bonne femme garnish.

5. Continue simmering sauce until all of the liquid is absorbed; lightly stir to distribute ingredients. Remove from heat.

6. Heat the butter in a small saucepan until it starts bubbling. Lower the heat, skim the foam off, and add the garlic. Cook the garlic in the hot butter for about a minute.

7. Put the chicken pieces in a broiling pan. Spoon the bonne femme garnish over and between the chicken pieces.  Spoon the garlic butter over and salt and pepper the lot. Crumble the bacon over the top.

8. Put the pan into a preheated 400-degree oven and cook for 7-12 minutes. Turn the pieces, redistribute the sauce, and bake for another 5-7 minutes. If the white meat is cooked, remove it from the pan and keep warm. Continue cooking the leg quarters until the juices run clear when the thigh is pierced. Return the breasts to the mixture, and serve with lots of the garnish.

Serves four.

Revised 3/29/08

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