Chicken Galliano Ala Lea Ann

We haven’t been inventing many things, but we’re sure enjoying trying your creations and here comes another. When someone, whose recipes you have confidence in, says something like “I can’t even describe how good this is”, how could I not try it. When we bought our whole ham the other day, I had them cut about a dozen slices into prosciutto thickness and Bev found the Galliano liqueur (which I'd never heard of) so this was the right time to make this dish. I took a little taste of the Galliano and it sure was a flavor explosion in my mouth – the guy at the liquor store asked Bev if she was making Harvey Wallbangers. I’d never had one and so I borrowed some OJ from our neighbor and made us one – 1 oz vodka, ½ oz Galliano, 4 oz orange juice – the flavor from the Galliano is still a flavor explosion. Here’s a few comments from Wikipedia: “Galliano, is a sweet herbal liqueur created in 1896 by Italian distiller and brandy producer Arturo Vaccari of Livorno, Tuscany. Vaccari named the spirit after Giuseppe Galliano, an Italian hero of the First Italo–Ethiopian War at the end of the 19th century. Its vivid yellow color, currently derived from tartrazine (a lemon-yellow azo dye), symbolizes the Gold Rushes of the 1890s. The liqueur was made by blending local Italian ingredients (anise, lavender, mint) with herbs and plants from far away countries (vanilla, cinnamon, coriander). Vaccari chose yellow as the color of Galliano to symbolize the gold rush and named his creation in honor of Giuseppe Galliano, an Italian hero from the Abyssinian Italian colonial wars. Among the many ingredients in Galliano are star anise from China , Mediterranean anise, juniper, musk yarrow, ginger, lavender and peppermint as well as vanilla with its delicate aroma and cinnamon with its spicy touch. Vanilla is the most important ingredient in Galliano. Neutral alcohol is infused with the pressings from all herbs and plants with exception of vanilla. The liquid is distilled and then infused with pressed vanilla. In the final stage distilled water, refined sugar and pure neutral alcohol are blended with the base. 30% alcohol by volume, Galliano possesses a unique, complex, intense, yet mellow aroma. When drunk, a full smooth flavor fills the mouth. The fresh aniseed flavors balance the sweet vanilla ones.” The anise flavor stands out for me but it’s a pretty good drink. I made the chicken dish as Lea Ann’s recipe specifies and we sided it with some leftover pasta from a couple of days ago. Bev and her sister don’t care for goat cheese so I used herbed goat cheese on mine and herbed Boursin on theirs. I ended up with elephant breast so the rolls were pretty big. As a result I ended up adding the liquid, mushrooms, and chicken to the pan and cooking about 15 minutes with the lid on to get them to 165* internal. Check out Lea Ann’s site for cooking pictures as mine looked basically the same. Here’s my plate and it was delicious, just as Lea Ann described. I would definitely make this again and serve it to company. Thanks for posting Lea Ann. Have a great day and thanks for stopping by. Larry