Roasted Chicken w/ Creamy Spinach-Celery Root Puree, Sauteed Apples, & Bacon

Hello guys!  How was everyone's weekend?  Mine was ABSOLUTELY phenomenal!  Saturday was my birthday and my friends and family made it such a special treat!  We went and ate at 610 Magnolia (Ed Lee's restaurant of Top Chef fame) and it was such a killer meal.  SO. SO. SO. SO Good!  My chef is pretty good friends with Ed Lee and we ended up getting a complimentary bottle of champagne on Ed, himself!  It pays to have connections, doesn't it?!  After dinner, a few friends showed up at a cheap bar for drinks.  Such a fun time and I'm so lucky to be surrounded by such amazing and caring people!

I competed in the San Pellegrino Almost Famous Chef competition on Friday, as well.  I didn't win, but I'm thankful to have the experience to be apart of something like that.  The girl that did win, deserved it on so many levels.  Her plate of food was just stunning, elegant, and perfect.  I hope she represents Kentucky well in Chicago!

Anyway, I made this dinner for my friends on Friday night and thought I'd share with you guys.  Looks fancy, but it's something so easy and so tasty - sure to impress anybody =)

Ingredients:

2 chicken breasts, skin on
salt and pepper, to taste
1 tablespoon olive oil

Spinach-Celery Root Puree:
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 small onion, diced
1 cup celery root, peeled and cut into small cubes
1 lb. fresh spinach
juice from 1 lemon
1 tablespoon flour
1 cup chicken stock
1/4 cup heavy cream
salt and pepper, to taste

2 Granny Smith apples, peeled and each cut into 8 wedges
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 tablespoon unsalted butter

2-4 strips of bacon, cooked and broken into 1/2 inch pieces

Preheat oven to 400F.

Start by making the spinach-celery root puree.  Heat a large saucepan under medium high heat.  Melt butter then add onions and celery root cubes.  Saute until onions become translucent and celery root is starting to soften.

Add in spinach and lemon juice and stir until spinach is wilted.

Add in flour and cook until somewhat of a paste is formed, about 2-3 minutes.

Add in stock and bring to a simmer.  Stir in heavy cream and simmer for about 5 minutes.  Blend mixture with an immersion blender and season with salt and pepper, to taste.  Keep warm until ready to use.

Heat an oven-proof skillet under medium high heat.  Add olive oil and heat until shimmering.  Season chicken with salt and pepper and place skin-side down into pan.  Cook until skin is golden brown, about 3-4 minutes.  Flip chicken breast over and place pan in the oven to cook until white throughout, about 6-8 minutes, depending on the size of your chicken breast.

While the chicken is in the oven, you can cook your apples.  Heat a medium saucepan under medium high heat and add butter.  Sprinkle the apple slices with cinnamon and add to pan.  Cook until softened and starting to brown, about 5 minutes or so.

Remove chicken from oven and let rest for about 3-5 minutes.

To plate, place a good dollop of the spinach-celery root puree in the center of the plate.  Place about 5 apples slices in a line over top of the puree.  Top the apples with the chicken breast.  Sprinkle crumbled bacon around plate.

 

The puree may not be the most pleasant color in the world, but it sure is tasty!  The whole plate comes together in no time and is basically a no fuss type of meal.  And not to mention the presentation - definitely will wow your dinner guests!

Hope you all have a great start to your week!