A Tasty Change of Pace

A Personal Recipe - Really - and a Good One at That

So we all need a break from time to time, so – in a complete departure from the norm – I thought I’d share a recipe I came up with a few years ago.

Seriously.

It may at first sound odd but it is pretty nummy and surprisingly easy, though I will not send you the ingredients in vacuum-sealed pouches thrown into boxes in warehouses in New Jersey – just go to the damn store.

So here you go – Sauteed chicken breast with a ginger cranberry jalapeno glaze.

I think we will go with a meal for three, but feel free to up and/or downsize as the case may be.

Take three nice good sized skinless chicken breast and put them in the fridge in a marinade of a sweetish white wine (like a reisling or a gewürztraminer), a bit of fresh dill, and diced (almost minced) fresh ginger and jalapeno (shoud be about a half a thumb of ginger and small-medium jalapeno for this stage).

Pour some of the wine in a glass and drink it.

When you put the chicken in the fridge also put in one unopened can of Ocean Spray Whole Berry cranberry sauce to chill it a bit (yes, I know you shouldn’t put cans in the fridge but this will be fine.)  Make sure it’s Ocean Spray Whole Berry and not some knock-off brand and if you make your own cranberry sauce and think you can use that you would be wrong – I have tried that and it doesn’t work; the resulting sauce tends to get waaay liquidy (same with the cheap stuff.)  It seems the pectins in Ocean Spray are perfect for heating … go figure (and if you know someone who works for Ocean Spray forward them this recipe and have them send me a check.)

While the stuff is in the fridge, dice  - again - nearly mince but not too too small - smaller than a vicodin but bigger than a citalopram or so – basically small enough to blend nicely in the finished sauce but big enough to still catch the heat and not simply melt.

Oh and what you are dicing is two large, crisp jalapenos and about a thumb and finger of ginger.  Also, you can chop a small bit of dill or the stuff in the jar works fine – say maybe about a flat teaspoon’s worth (note – wash your hands after dicing jalapenos, especially if you have to go pee – trust me on that.)

Pour some of the wine in a glass and drink it.

As for the starch and vegetable, that’s up to you, but I find that steamed broccoli goes pretty well and you can never go wrong with rosemary potatoes.  For that, slice about half pinky thin 8 or so small red potatoes and place them in a medium-high heat sauté pan in which you have melted a half stick of butter; fry flip, add a bunch of fresh rosemary, fry, stir, add another third of a stick of butter and salt and cracked pepper and fry and flip and add some more rosemary and maybe add another chunk of butter and then you’re set and it’s very okay if some of slices are a bit overdone and some a bit under – the different textures work nicely.  Oh, and if you happen to be out of potatoes, slices – julienne I would think - of the sole of an old loafer will work nearly as well – with that much butter and rosemary and salt and pepper, it doesn’t really matter.

Interestingly, the potatoes should take roughly the same time as the chicken so here we go with that.

Turn on the oven to about 350 and let warm up.  On the stove, put some butter in a sauté pan (even the butterless ones because you will be using the fond), turn the heat up high, let the butter melt a bit and then add the chicken breasts (oh, yeah, take the chicken and the cranberry sauce out of the fridge now).

You can add some of the liquid marinade to the pan after you have an initial sear and then just cook the chicken – but not completely done – mostly, nearly, almost, but not completely.  When the chicken hits that point put it on an oven-safe plate and stick it in the over for finishing.

Immediately add wine to the now empty pan (and the now possibly tipsy cook) and scrape around to get the fond – that’s the tasty burny bits left in the pan – separated.  Add a bit of butter, the ginger, and the jalapeno to the pan – still high heat – and stir around until the aromatics really start to pop – shouldn’t be more than a minute or two.

Then add the entire can of cranberry sauce and smoosh around the pan – mixing it with the ginger and jalapeno - until evenish.  Bubble, bubble heat for a bit, then add the dill, maybe some wine if there is any left, and then cut the heat to keep the concoction at a high simmer.  You will see the sauce reduce and get darker – that is good and this whole process should take about six minutes.

Take the chicken out of the oven – it’s done now – and, along with the broccoli (oh, I forgot, cook that, too) and the potatoes, plate the dishes while the sauce continues to engooify (and if there is any liquid left on the plate from the oven feel free to pour that in the sauce and stir).

Finally, spoon the sauce/glaze/whatever onto the chicken and you’re done.  Open the second bottle of wine and eat the food.

This recipe may seem long but once you’ve done it just once it becomes really simple.  Also, feel free to make the same amount of sauce for just one or two chicken breasts – wait for the remainder  to cool a bit (when you’re done eating it should be fine,) put it in a plastic container, and put it in the fridge.  It keeps very well for nearly a week and is really really good on turkey sandwiches.

Hope you enjoy and, as Joe Biden would say, barnapetit!