Brainy Poulet a la Bonne Femme...

 

When you consider the ingredients, Poulet a la Bonne Femme and Chicken Vesuvio are pretty much the same dish. Why not... after all, when it comes to simple home cooked meals, families in Europe used similar ingredients when conditions called for rich sustenance and frugality.

With that said, this dish can be made in a variety of ways including with mushrooms but always with bacon, onion, peas and potatoes.

For this dish you will need: chicken thighs (as many per person as you will serve) with the skin on and bone in, potatoes, onion, bacon, peas and onion. To begin, saute the onion along with the bacon until browned and crispy. Remove the onion and bacon from the skillet, saving the bacon grease.  Add some olive oil to the skillet and fry the chicken thighs skin side down and do the same for the other side.

Remove the thighs from the skillet and place in a glass baking dish to be kept warm in the oven at 275 while you saute the potatoes (washed and diced) in the same skillet; adding, 2 tbs of butter. Next, toss in the peas (frozen or fresh) along with a dash of salt, black or white pepper, garlic powder and dried herbs of your choice.

 Bring back the onion and bacon...

Bring the chicken back into the mix along with 1 cup of beef stock and 1/2 cup of beer...let simmer!

Serve with a good Burgundy or Chianti...

~ Tutti a Tavola!