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1
Trim the chicken and cut it in half longways so that it will lie fairly flat, (I use a large, sharp French knife to cut through the breast side in two first, then I flip it over and rock my knife with pressure down the backbone until I have two halves).
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2
Strip most of the rosemary leaves from the sprigs (leaving leaves on the tips) and mince the leaves.
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3
Save the stems.
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4
Place the minced rosemary leaves into a small bowl.
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5
Mix the sea salt and the 1/2 teaspoon of white pepper into the bowl with the minced rosemary.
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6
Rub this blend on the two chicken halves, on both sides of each.
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7
Shove the rosemary stems into the chicken breasts.
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8
Attach two raw slices of bacon to the top of each chicken half with toothpicks.
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9
In a roasting pan, with a grill in the bottom to slightly elevate the chicken, pour in the one cup of water (it should not actually touch the chicken).
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10
Lay the chicken halves on the grill and toss in the celery chunks.
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11
Pour the four tablespoons of melted butter slowly over the chicken halves, cover the roaster pan, and place into a pre-heated 300-degree F. oven for 2 hours.
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12
Twenty minutes before the chicken comes out of the oven, make the white sauce over a double boiler, (I improvise a double boiler by using a cooking pot with three cups of boiling water in the bottom and set a stainless steel salad bowl on top to mix the sauce in.
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13
).
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14
Melt the butter (the 4 tablespoons for the sauce) in the double boiler.
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15
Slowly whisk in the Wondra flour, table salt and the 1/4 teaspoon of white pepper.
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16
This makes a gooey, off-white roux.
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17
Next, slowly whisk in the pre-warmed milk and bring to a slow boil if possible (sometimes this is hard to do -- don't worry if it doesn't boil.)
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18
Use a little more milk if necessary to make the sauce like a very thin pancake batter and maintain heat for about 15 minutes, whisking frequently.
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19
The sauce will thicken as it heats.
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20
Add the Parmesan cheese, then the chopped artichokes, then the crumbled bacon and maintain heat for 5 more minutes, stirring carefully.
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21
At the end of the 5 minutes, take the sauce off the heat and plate up the chicken (no celery unless desired for garnish).
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22
Remove the toothpicks from the baked chicken (you could also create your 4 portions at this point) and, pour the sauce over it.
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23
Top the sauce with a garnish of the dried parsley and serve.
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24
The side dishes I offer up with this dish are egg noodles with a little minced fresh garlic and butter in them (or, you could serve rice) and, steamed peas.
