The beginning of October marks the return each year of the Dixie Classic Fair (renamed, for good reason, to the Carolina Classic Fair) here in Winston-Salem, and on a gorgeous day off that week I went up and checked it out. I hadn't been to the fair in over 30 years, I bet. I walked the grounds, checked out a lot of the agricultural exhibits, walked around the midway, ate nothing, and came home about 75 minutes later. It was five bucks well spent.
Of course, there are tons of contests and competitions, and the write-up in the local paper of one sponsored by our very own Colony Urban Farm caught my eye. The winning recipe, from Crystal Ridge of nearby Kernersville, was her gussied-up take on the Outback Steakhouse's Alice Springs Chicken. I decided to make it on Saturday night.
This isn't one of the simple recipes:
- the chicken breasts were pounded and left to marinate overnight in a mix of seasonings and spices
- the special honey mustard sauce calls for Bourbon-infused Colony Urban Farm honey
- the cooked bacon is also specially seasoned to up the flavor
- the chicken is grilled before getting dressed for the final baking
- mushrooms are sautéed, of course
- all the goodness is layered and topped with two kinds of cheese before a final baking
And the result? Awesomely fantastic. With all the energy that went into putting the main dish together, I had to depend on instant potatoes and simple steamed asparagus spears for the sides. I sure was delighted with how it all turned out nonetheless. Congratulations to Crystal Ridge for her terrific creation!
"Bourbon Honey Mustard Mushroom Pepper Jack Bacon Chicken," 1st Place Winning Entry submitted by Crystal Ridge (Kernersville, NC) in the Fool's Gold Honey Contest at the 2018 Dixie Classic Fair in Winston-Salem, NC.
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