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Winning chicken recipe from Kentucky man

© Lee Ward

Last year in March, I received information from the Cornbread Festival in South Pittsburg, Tennessee, telling me that a man in our area had been chosen as a finalist.

I gave David King of Boyd County, Ky., a call and ended up going to his house, where I sampled his fantastic culinary skills. He made me the Savory Spoonbread, which got him a spot in his first cookoff.

Sad to say, King didn't win that cookoff. But he wasn't upset. He told me he had a great time, he was awestruck by the terrific cooks and by all he learned during the cookoff. He said he was sure it would benefit him in future cooking endeavors.

He was right.

A few months later, King called to let me know that he'd been accepted to compete in the World Chicken Cookoff in London, Kentucky.

He told me he was guaranteed of winning at least a third place, as only three adult and three juvenile competitors were chosen. He would prepare his original dish and see what happened.

Between the cornbread and the chicken, King said he had entered several recipe contests, ranging from cookies to casseroles. And, he said, his experience at the cornbread festival had been really helpful as he wrote down recipes in a form that others could understand.

He said he found that some of the competitions even wanted utensils listed, including the size of the pots used.

For the chicken competition, King created something called Havana Chicken, a delicious combination of apples and chicken served with rice.

His wife, Margaret, told me before the competition she expected to eat it many times that week, as David was still experimenting with different types of apples.

It paid off, as King hit upon the winning recipe and now can call himself the World Chicken King. He won first place and was delighted. "Can you believe the luck?" he asked me. I told him no, not the luck; but rather, the skill, talent and hard work.

Following is the recipe that made him the World Chicken King. Hopefully, he'll be calling me to tell me about more wins.

Here's King's Havana Chicken:

2 pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons canola oil
2 cups firm apples, peeled and diced
1 cup Bermuda onion, diced
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1 tablespoon chopped cilantro
2 teaspoons ground coriander
½ teaspoon cumin
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon ground ginger
½ teaspoon tumeric
¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
2 cups instant rice
4 cups water

Prepare the rice according to package directions and let it cook while you...