Inside Out

 As a kid, I believed that if I could swing high enough to fly over the swing set my world would turn upside down and inside out. My private little Wonderland.

Now, as an adult, the world is upside down and inside out. No swings attached.

These days, it seems that most everything has been shuffled around, rescheduled, rearranged, postponed, cancelled, or vitrualized. Even the 146th running of the Kentucky Derby has been moved from the first Saturday in May until the first Saturday in September, happily landing it smack dab in the middle of National Bourbon Heritage Month. Bourbon and horse racing. A winning ticket. Win. Place.Show. Oddly enough, the annual 2 weeks long  Kentucky Bourbon Festival, which draws tens of thousands of people to the Bluegrass  in September to  celebrate all things bourbon,  has been postponed and rescheduled as a virtual affair until October. Thinking back on my stints teaching the Culinary Arts: Bourbon Style Cooking School for hundreds of bourbonites at the Bourbon Festival, and remembering all the things that could and did go wrong during those live cooking demos, the thought of a virtual reality show now sounds somewhat appealing, but not as much fun. Take 1. Take 2. Cut. Edit. Silence. Repeat.

As things gets rearranged and the seasons change, bourbon remains constant.

Whether you sip it, shoot it, mix it, or cook with it, bourbon is always in season.

Bourbon-Sorghum Glazed Chicken With Late Season Succotash.

Make it shine. Oberholzter sorghum, deep and rich, is like silken golden honey. After sauteing 2 minced shallots in 1 tablespoon olive oil until translucent, I hit the pan with 1/2 cup Bookers Bourbon, ignited it, and let it reduce before adding 1 cup Oberholzter sorghum, 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar, 1/4 cup light brown sugar, 2 tablespoons white balsamic vinegar, 1 teaspoon garlic powder, 1 teaspoon smoked paprika, and 1/2 teaspoon ground mustard. I brought the glaze to a boil, reduced it to simmer, and let it bubble away until it mellowed out into a smooth glaze, (about 20 minutes) and set it aside.

Stick it. I'm on team skewer. Not only are skewers inherently more fun, they provide a safer option for small gatherings celebrating the Derby and National Bourbon Heritage month. After slicing 2 pounds Garry Farm boneless chicken into manageable 1 1/2" pieces, I threaded the chicken onto pre-soaked bamboo skewers along with with Casey County red and green bell peppers sliced into wedges, peeled and quartered Stonehedge Farm purple onions, 2 sliced Madison County yellow squash, and 2 sliced and halved Woodford County Zucchini. I drizzled the skewers with olive oil and seasoned them with smoked paprika, salt, cracked black pepper, and garlic powder before setting them aside to marinate.

Suffering succotash. Succotash gets a bad rap. Oh sure, it's filled with a hodgepodge of garden stuff, but right now is the time of year to make that garden stuff shine. I grew up with succotash. On our family farm, during mid to late season when the garden was in full swing and everything was coming on strong, my grandmother's go to catch-all side was succotash. Her low brow country version was fried in bacon grease and smothered in  pepper. Even then, it was fabulous alongside her refrigerator pickles, cornbread, and tomato pudding. Endless versions of succotash vary from region to region and even from family to family. The sky's the limit. As long as the three sisters (lima beans, corn, squash) join the party, anything goes.

Echoing some of the same ingredients as the skewers, I sauteed and salted 1 cup diced purple onion, 1 cup each diced Casey County red and green bell peppers, and 1 /2 cups shelled, peeled, and blanched Madison County lima beans, and 2 cloves minced garlic in 2 tablespoon olive oil. When the vegetables softened and the onions turned translucent, I added 3 cups (5 ears) fresh Pulaski County cutoff corn. After kissing the corn with a bit of heat, I deglazed the pan with 1/2 cup chicken stock and let it reduce before adding 2 cups Rolling Blue Farm diced big boy tomatoes and 1/2 cup heavy cream. When the cream reduced enough to lightly nap the vegetables, I pulled the succotash from the heat and added chives, fresh basil, and  1/2 cup freshly grated parmigiano reggiano cheese. 

Fire. With everything on deck, I slapped the skewers onto a grill over hot coals and grilled the chicken for 10-12 minutes, turning them from to time and liberally brushing them with the glaze after each turn.When they were cooked through and slightly charred, I pulled them from the grill to rest and grilled 3 halved Stonehedge Farm purple onions cut side down. When the onions softened and caramelized, I carefully scooped out the inner layers to serve on the side, filled the grilled onions with  heaping spoonfuls of succotash, and nestled them alongside the sorghum-bourbon glazed chicken before finishing with snipped garden chives and fresh basil.

While the bourbon added subtle smoky oak undertones to the sticky glaze, the vinegar-spiked sorghum  provided mellow sweet acidity as it napped the tender chicken. Spilling from the soft caramelized onions,  the lightly creamed succotash  countered the charred crunch of the grilled vegetables and the smoky sweetness of the bourbon glazed chicken.

Fresh.

Fun.

Fabulous.

Bourbon Season. Never postponed.