Name: Cowboy Cornbread Chicken
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 50 min
Total time: 1 h 15 min
Yield: 6
Cuisine: American
Ingredients: 3 large boneless skinless chicken breasts, halved lengthwise; 1 tablespoon olive oil; 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt; 1/2 teaspoon black pepper; 1/4 teaspoon chipotle pepper; 1/2 cup unsalted butter; 1 yellow onion, diced; 1 red bell pepper, diced; 1 green bell pepper, diced; 3 cloves garlic, minced; 1 cup self-rising flour; 1 cup cornmeal; 1/2 teaspoon salt; 3 tablespoons honey; 1 1/2 cups buttermilk; 2 large eggs, beaten; 2 ounces grated Monterey Jack or Cheddar cheese; 1/4 cup sliced green onions; 1/2 cup unsalted butter; 1/2 cup honey; 1/2 teaspoon chipotle pepper; pinch cayenne pepper; salt to taste

1 Cut breasts and place in a mixing bowl. Add oil, salt, pepper, and chipotle, and mix until evenly combined. Place in the refrigerator until needed. This step may be done hours in advance.

2 Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).

3 Place butter in a 12-inch cast iron pan, or other oven safe pan, and melt over medium-high heat. Add onion and a pinch of salt, and cook, stirring, for a few minutes, or until onions start to soften and turn translucent. Add red bell pepper, green bell pepper, and garlic and cook, stirring, until peppers just start to lose their rawness, another minute or two. Turn off heat.

4 Remove half the peppers to a bowl, and reserve, leaving as much butter in the pan as possible. Let the pan cool for 5 minutes. Meanwhile, mix self-rising flour, cornmeal, and 1/2 teaspoon salt together in a bowl and set aside.

5 Add honey, buttermilk, and eggs to the pan and whisk to combine. Add dry ingredients to the pan and use a spatula to stir until just combined.

6 Place and press the chicken pieces into the batter, in a spiral pattern, spacing as evenly as possible. Use a spoon to transfer about 3 spoons of batter from any high points into the center of the pan. Scatter over the reserved pepper and onion mixture. Sprinkle with cheese.

7 Bake in the preheated oven until a toothpick comes out clean from the cornbread, and the chicken is safely cooked through, about 40 minutes. Garnish with green onions and serve with hot honey butter.

8 For hot honey butter, add butter, honey, chipotle, cayenne, and salt to a saucepan, and place over medium heat. As soon as the mixture comes to a simmer, whisk thoroughly, season to taste, and serve warm.