Garlic Herb Chicken

 

To be truthful, I am not a big fan of boneless, skinless chicken breast.  They are pretty plain, potentially dry and flavorless.  The word I like to use is "insipid".  But if you cook them and retain their moisture, add a bit of flavor, chicken breast can be a great blank canvas.

This is my favorite recipe for boneless, skinless chicken breast and it's easy!  Here's what you'll need:

Ingredients
3 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
3 garlic cloves, sliced thinly
Salt
Pepper
1 cup of white wine ( chardonnay is my favorite)
1 Teaspoon of dried herbs (rosemary, herbes de provence, thyme all work well)
4 boneless, skinless chicken

Place an oven-safe plate in the oven and set the heat to Warm.

 

Salt and pepper both sides of the chicken breast and set aside.

Heat the extra virgin olive oil over medium heat in a saute pan with a good-fitting lid or Dutch oven.  Add the sliced garlic and cook until they are about the color of a potato chip then remove with a slotted spoon.  Do not let them get too dark because they can turn bitter. We want our olive oil infused with great garlic flavor and burnt garlic is not the way to get there.

Keep the heat at medium and add the chicken breast to the pan and brown on each side.

Add the cup of white wine, pour slowly to reduce splattering.  I prefer using a dry white wine like chardonnay but use what you enjoy the most.  

Also, add the teaspoon of herbs, I used herbes de Provence this time around but rosemary and thyme work equally well .  If you are using fresh herbs from your garden you should use a tablespoon of them, finely chopped.

 

Once the liquids begin to simmer reduce the heat to low and cover.  Let cook for 10 minutes.  After 10 minutes are up, remove the chicken breast and place them on the heated plate that was warming in your oven.  Keep the breasts in the oven while you reduce the sauce.

Raise the heat to medium to reduce the white wine sauce.  Keep stirring until the sauce reduces by about half and thickens a bit.

Remove from the heat and return the warmed chicken breast back to the pan.  Smother them in the sauce and they are ready to serve.  Hope you enjoy this recipe.

Chicken Thigh Pies with Sweet Onion, Pear & Ginger

At the Bradley Smoker Forum the have a contest called "The Iron Chef Bradley" competition. It's a lot of fun to be involved because it helps me think out of the box a bit more that I usually do. This was the forth competition this year and the secret ingredients were: pear, onion and chicken thighs. The requirements are that 80% of all the cooking must be done outside either in a smoker, BBQ or grill...even an open fire!

Here's my entry. When the voting finished, it ended up in second place. It was my first experience with puff pastry and I was really impressed with how easy they were to work with.
Please note that I baked them in the grill on an insulated baking pan because this was keeping with the outside cooking requirement of the contest but feel free to bake them in the oven if you do not have an insulated baking pan.

Ingredients:
3 large chicken thighs (approx 1 pound) cut in half
1 cup apple cider
6 slices regular bacon
1 TBS oil
2 tps minced ginger (divided)
1/2 large sweet onion sliced thinly (I used a Walla Walla sweet onion)
1 large pear peeled and sliced thinly
salt, pepper, and nutmeg to your taste
1 1/2 sheets of puff pastry cut into 6 squares, at room temperature for at least 40 mins.
6 oz cream cheese at room temp
1 tsp soy sauce
1 egg
1+ TBS water
Spray oil like Pam

Marinade chicken thighs 8 hrs in apple cider. Keep in the fridge while marinading.

Dry off chicken with a paper towel. Season to taste with salt, pepper and nutmeg. Wrap each piece with bacon and place on a Pam-sprayed smoker rack.
Smoke in a preheated smoker at 225F with apple smoke for 2 hours.

Have your pears, onions and 1 tsp of the ginger prepped and ready to go. Add 1 TBS of oil heating very hot in a skillet on the grill and when it starts smoking add the onions and saute till tender.
Then add pears and ginger, sprinkle with salt, pepper and nutmeg to taste. Saute for just a couple minutes and the pears are tender but not falling apart. Remove from heat.

To the cream cheese add the soy sauce and the remaining 1 tsp of minced ginger.

On a lightly-floured surface roll the puff pastry to squares of 6 inches square.
On each pastry, spread a 1/6th of the cream cheese mixture, then place a bacon-wrapped chicken piece and top with 1/6th of the sauted onions, ginger and pear mixture.

Fold over each puff pastry, moisten with a little water where the puff pastry comes in contact with itself and press down with a fork. Place on a Pam-sprayed insulated baking sheet.
Mix one egg with one TBS of water and brush on the tops of the pies. Cut slits into each pie to vent.

Place in a 400F pre-heated grill, close the grill and bake for 20 mins.
Bake until brown and bubbling.
Enjoy!