Currently cooking from All About Braising by Molly Stevens

I may have not been in the best position to appreciate this dish. The week that I made it, I was sick, and I had just tried to slice off my finger with a broken drinking glass. Trying to chop vegetables and season chicken breasts with one hand, while coughing up a lung, is hard work.

This dish starts off by browning bacon and chicken on the stovetop. Once the meat is browned, a shallot is added to the pot, along with a couple of cups of hard cider. The cider is reduced, then parsnips and the meat are added back to the pot and the whole thing braises in the oven until the chicken is cooked, about 50 minutes.

Braising the chicken in the hard cider kept the meat moist. The braising liquid made a nice, albeit thin, sauce to spoon over the chicken, and the parsnips became soft and sweet. My only real quibble with the dish was that the chicken skin turned into a soft, unappetizing mess, and I had to spoon off quite a bit of grease before serving the dish.