The Cure for The Culinary Comatose Syndrome

Boring food have you . . . bored?

Have you ever been so incredibly bored with the repetitive nature of the food that you cook—you know, the same old same old chicken, pork, turkey or beef—that you morph into a mad scientist in the kitchen, begin mixing spices & seasonings, condiments, sauces and everything else you can get your grubby little hands on until you come up with a concoction worthy of The Food Network?

When I get in those moods—and believe me, they’re occurring more frequently as I seem to be exhausting ways to prepare chicken, turkey and fish—my husband is usually the one who benefits (or suffers, on occasion) from my creative culinary sparks. I call him my human guinea pig.

Most times I’m successful and the dish winds up in recipe rotation in the Albarda household. Sometimes I fail so miserably that I vow never to cook again. But I always end up cooking again.

This state of being—which I shall refer to as Culinary Comatose Syndrome—hit me a few nights ago. As I stared bug-eyed into my refrigerator I was at a complete loss as to what dish would be placed on the dining room table at days’ end. I mean, how many ways can you prepare chicken?

Well, I thought of another way.

It sounds relatively simple, but in the end it turned out to be a dish that was so good it made me want to slap myself.

My mind was in overdrive as I began to mentally throw together ingredients that would culminate in a dish that my husband would savor for the rest of the evening. Chicken? Check. Red pepper? Check. Brown Sugar? Check. Bacon? Check. Next it was off to the store for the remaining ingredients.

It was time for the mad scientist in me to emerge. The culmination of Culinary Comatose Syndrome was Bacon Wrapped Spiced Apple Chicken.

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Bacon Wrapped Spiced Apple Chicken

6 boneless skinless chicken thighs

1 13 oz. bottle Spiced Apple Marinade
  (I used Delmonico’s Restaurant Spiced
  Apple Marinade)

1 medium red pepper

2 Tbsp. olive oil

2 Tbsp. brown sugar

6 slices provolone cheese

1 – 1 1/2 pounds bacon (Note: I used
  turkey bacon)

Place chicken thighs in plastic zipper storage bag and pour approximately 1 cup of the Spiced Apple Marinade over chicken. [NOTE: I usually poke holes in the chicken with a fork to ensure the flavor soaks in] Close the bag and massage the chicken until it the marinade is worked through. Refrigerate for 4-6 hours.

COOKING:

Preheat oven to 375°. When ready to prepare chicken, slice red pepper into thin strips. Marinate strips over low heat in olive oil until slightly softened. Add brown sugar, stir and cover. Allow peppers to caramelize, checking the pan often so that the brown sugar doesn’t get sticky.

Lay a chicken thigh flat and place caramelized peppers on one half. Add provolone cheese slice over the peppers and fold other half of chicken over to close. Lay chicken across one strip of uncooked bacon and fold bacon ends over to meet/overlap on the chicken; secure with a toothpick. Use 2-4 strips of bacon on each chicken thigh, depending on the size. Repeat this process for each chicken thigh.

Place bacon wrapped chicken in a shallow dish. Slather additional marinade over each piece of chicken. Bake uncovered. Baste chicken with marinade juice periodically to keep chicken from drying out. Bake for 35-45 minutes, depending on thickness of thighs.

The outcome: Bacon Wrapped Spiced Apple Chicken