FONDUE DIPPERS: BACON WRAPPED CHICKEN WITH SPINACH, BLANCHED VEGETABLES AND APPLES

Fondue Dippers: Bacon Wrapped Chicken with Spinach, Blanched Vegetables and Apples image

Provided by Rachael Ray : Food Network

Time 25m

Yield 6 servings

Number Of Ingredients 23

Ingredients

1 (10-ounce) box frozen chopped spinach
Extra-virgin olive oil, for drizzling
6 slices good quality smoky bacon, halved across (recommended: Oscars from Warrensburg)
12 chicken tenders
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 teaspoon poultry seasoning
1 teaspoon smoked sweet paprika
1 bunch radishes, trimmed
1 large red pepper, seeded and sliced 1/2-inch thick sticks
1 bundle white or thin green asparagus, trimmed
1 sack purple pearl onions or 1 jar pickled pearl onions, drained
1 jar mini gherkins, drained
1 bag pretzel rods
Whole-grain or seeded bread, diced for dipping
Fondue with Apple Brandy, recipe follows
1 3/4 cups dry white wine
1 tablespoon lemon juice
3/4 pound Gruyere, shredded
3/4 pound Emmentaler, shredded
1 1/2 tablespoons cornstarch
1/3 cup apple brandy
Freshly grated nutmeg, to taste
Pinch cayenne pepper

Steps:

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
Defrost spinach in microwave.
Drizzle a little oil on large plate and have a rack sitting on baking a sheet or slotted broiler pan nearby. Halve the bacon across and reserve on a meat-safe prep board. Halve the chicken tenders and slide into the dish with olive oil. Season with salt, pepper, poultry seasoning and paprika. Wring out the spinach in a clean dish towel and put the spinach in a small dish. Top each piece of chicken with a little spinach and wrap with bacon. Arrange, seem side down, on the baking pan. Bake until golden and firm, 18 to 20 minutes.
Meanwhile, bring a few inches of salted water to a boil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Have a large bowl of ice water, for shocking the vegetables, ready as well. Add the radishes to the boiling water and blanch for 1 minute, then remove them and shock in ice water. Repeat with the pepper removing them with tongs or small strainer or spider. Add the asparagus and cook until crisp-tender, about 2 to 3 minutes, then shock and reserve.
If using fresh onions, add last and cook for 3 minutes to loosen skins. Shock them and use a towel to wipe away the skins.
Arrange the meat, vegetables and pretzels around a fondue pot and serve with cubed bread in a basket.
Put the wine in a fondue pot and bring to a bubble over medium heat. Reduce the heat to a simmer. Add the lemon juice, then add the cheeses in handfuls, stirring in a figure-8 motion with wooden spoon. When the cheese is fully melted, stir the cornstarch into the brandy, in a small bowl until smooth, then add to cheese. Season with nutmeg and cayenne and serve over a warming station for your fondue pot.