MADE: Flambéed Fruit

As far as I can tell, there are five* driving forces behind my current flambé obsession:

1. It's ridiculously easy.
2. It's delicious.
3. It's impressive to talk about the next day.
4. It involves lighting things on fire.
5. It's an excellent excuse to keep rum in the house at all times.

Also, peaches are in season,** and I'm harboring a rather un-secret obsession with the white peaches at the Market. It should come as no surprise, then, that two weeks or so ago, in a fit of sarcasm-turned-reality, Sambert and I facetiously suggested, hesitatingly agreed upon, and rapidly enacted a peach flambé. We have never looked back.

Ingredients 
3 tbsp butter 
3 tbsp white sugar
1/2 cup sliced stone fruits, peels still on (The flambé pictured uses two small peaches, a nectarine, and two adorable apricots. Variations on this theme are allowed--nay, encouraged!)
Rum, to taste (we've been using about a quarter cup, but a bit more might result in a more successful flame)
Ice cream, preferably vanilla or sweet cream

Equipment
Something with which to light a fire (lighter or gas flame, coupled with a long candle, wooden skewer, or just a long match)

In a large skillet over medium-high heat, melt the butter. Add the sugar and whisk or stir until smooth and combined. Then, add the sliced fruit, spreading it out evenly across the pan. Cook the fruit for one minute on one side, then flip it, and cook for 30 seconds more.

For the flaming part of the flambé, it helps to have two people. One person adds the rum, removing the pan from heat and swirling it to get the alcohol evenly distributed throughout. The other brings the lighter or long match to the alcohol vapors at the edge of the pan, igniting them and (ideally) the rest of the surface of the dish shortly thereafter. Ooh and Aah at the blue flame-yness of it all for a while, and then, once the alcohol vapor has burned itself off and the butter-sugar sauce has thickened slightly, serve the warm, gooey, boozey mess over ice cream. DEVOUR.  

EDIT: Apparently, we would have better flaming results if we warmed the rum in the microwave before adding it to the pan. Looks like we've got more flambéing to do, Sambert! To the...Cookmobile?

*This list has been accumulating a little bit like the Spanish Inquisition. But I'm pretty sure I've got all the reasons now. If not, I'll come in again.

**GAH. AND NICE RED UNIFORMS. 

MADE: Stuffed Chicken with Wine Sauce

This recipe begins (as all good recipes do) with a simple instruction: cook a pound of bacon.

Okay, okay fine. Maybe that's not what you do on Friday afternoon. You and I are different people.

Ingredients
2-3 strips bacon
1/2 large yellow onion, diced
2 oz Cremini mushrooms, coarsely chopped
2 tsp salt
2 tsp brown sugar
Freshly ground black pepper
2 tbsp butter
2 tbsp flour
1/2 cup chicken stock
1/4 cup red wine
2 chicken breasts
2 oz soft goat cheese

Place bacon in a large frying pan and cook over medium-high heat until just crisp. Remove and set aside on a paper towel, to siphon off the grease. Keep two tablespoons (or so) of the bacon grease in the frying pan. Turn the heat down to medium and add the onion and mushrooms to the pan. Add the salt, sugar, and a dash of pepper, and stir to fully coat. Then smooth out the onion-mushroom mixture evenly in the pan, and leave to caramelize. Don't stir the vegetables often, but when you notice them beginning to brown in the pan--just before they're starting to stick and burn--toss in a few tablespoons of water and stir vigorously for a few seconds, before spreading the mixture out evenly again. Do this a few times to deglaze the mixture and speed up the caramelizing process. The whole deal should take about 15 minutes or so, or until the onions have gone from white, to clear, to a caramel-y brown. While the vegetables are caramelizing, chop the strips of bacon into small, 1/4" sized pieces.

Pre-heat the oven to 375 degrees F.

As the caramelization process comes to a close, melt the butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. When butter is melted, whisk in flour, until a thin paste forms. Continue whisking for about two minutes, then stir in the chicken broth (I used a bouillon cube dissolved in warm water) and wine. Keep stirring until mixture thickens--about five minutes. Give the mixture a dash of pepper if you're into pepper. (I am.) Once the sauce has begun to thicken, stir in the mushroom and onion mixture. (It might be beneficial to switch from a whisk to a wooden spoon as your implement-of-attack, here.) Stir for another minute or so, then remove from heat.

Butterfly (i.e. slice slightly open to create a bigger, flatter surface) two chicken breasts. To one side of each butterfly seam, pipe a line/glob of goat cheese, then sprinkle each with half of the diced bacon. Then, roll the edges of the chicken breast around this filling and place, seam-down, into an appropriately-sized baking dish. Pour the sauce over the chicken breasts and place in the oven, uncovered, for 30 minutes. Then, (if at any point in the cooking process you've tasted the sauce, this will not need saying, but,) DEVOUR.