Tieghan's Kitchen: Creamed Corn Chicken Skillet

I am reporting to you from my first couple of weeks back at work aka endless phone calls with tech support and teaching myself how to have infinite amounts of patience via my new life balance: technology/conference calls and diaper changing- I love the latter so much, is that weird? Don't answer that.

On Friday night, I was so looking forward to my glass of wine and cooking time to end my week beautifully (spoiler alert, the glass of wine never happened, I ate too much and went straight to bed- I am getting healthier by the minute). I however did not feel quite creative and noticed I had boneless chicken thighs in the fridge, so I went for a recipe I viewed in Tieghan Gerard's Instagram stories that I was eager to recreate. On some nights, you really just need someone to tell you each step of your meal and execute blindly. I am so glad I did.

I should let you know that this post is a little different from the others: it goes beyond being inspired by one ingredient, or an image, or an idea out of my imagination. Instead, I followed a recipe step by step, with the exact same ingredients (with 2 exceptions) from a cooking blog I adore: The Half-Baked Harvest. This recipe is not simply inspired, it is a recreation (call it an homage, I love this chef's pictures, barn transformation and cooking ideas in general!). So I will leave the link to her recipe here and will let you view my version (which again is incredibly similar, but I am so happy with the results I could not refrain from taking pictures and sharing!)- let's get into it!

Be ready for a rich garlic taste with a silky smooth texture (thank you butter!) blessed with a touch of heat. Yes please.

You will need,

Chicken thighs (or breasts, 4)

Olive oil (2 tbsp)

Fresh thyme leaves (a few stems, giving you around 1 tbsp)

Seat salt

Black pepper

Flour (1/4 cup)

Bacon (4 slices, chopped)

Red onion, chopped (1- recipe said yellow but I was out, I had also just chopped a considerable amount of red onion for my freezer prep so, win-win!)

Butter (2 tbsp)

Corn (2 ears, kernels removed)

Garlic (2 cloves, minced)

Red pepper flakes (or chili oil, 1 tbsp)

White wine (3/4 cup- my heart breaks as I write this, but I was out and used chicken broth instead- another good substitute is apple juice, again, in case you drank all your stash of Pinot)

Whole milk (1/2 cup)

Parmesan (1/2 cup)

Basil leaves (a handful, chopped for garnish)

A few simple steps,

1. Place chicken in a bowl and pour in 1 tbsp of olive oil, sprinkle thyme, and as much salt and pepper as you wish. Toss and coat each piece evenly. Then, cover the chicken in flour and toss again until an even layer of flour coats all pieces. 2. Prepare the bacon bits: in a skillet over medium high, cook until crisp. Remove the bacon from the pan and drain onto paper towels. Once dry, chop into 1-inch pieces and set aside. 3. In the same pan, add chicken and cook on both sides for about 3-4 minutes. I had chicken thighs thus smaller than breasts, so depending on your portions, cook accordingly. Remove chicken from the pan. 4. Add the remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil and wait until it simmers. Add the onion and cook until fragrant, about 5 minutes. Add the butter, corn, garlic, and red pepper flakes. Cook another 5 minutes or until the corn is lightly golden.  5. Reduce the heat to medium low and pour in the chicken broth (WINE!) and 1/2 cup water. Add the chicken back to the skillet and bring to a simmer over medium heat. Simmer the chicken for 10-15 minutes until cooked through. Stir in the whole milk and Parmesan, cook another few minutes until warmed through. Remove from the heat and top with bacon. 5. Serve the chicken topped with fresh thyme and basil. Bon appétit!