adapted from a recipe in Family Circle magazine, Nov. 1, 2010
This can be assembled and frozen for future use. It’s nice to serve this with pasta so you can pour some of the extra sauce over it. For more of a Greek feel to it, you can substitute feta for the goat cheese and an olive tapenade for the tomatoes/onion confit. In this case, I used a Greek spice blend as well.
3 oz. (1/3 cup) of herbed goat cheese
7 sundried tomatoes packed in oil, chopped (omitted these as I’m allergic to tomatoes – instead, I used caramelized onion confit – recipe below. You can also buy onion confit or onion marmalade at many gourmet shops if you prefer not to make your own.)
6 boneless skinless chicken breasts
2 cups cream
1 tsp. garlic powder
6 tsp. cornstarch
1 T. olive or canola oil
2 T. fresh chopped chives
Start by mixing the goat cheese with some of the onion confit (or 2 T. of tomatoes if using those). Make a slit in each of the chicken breasts to form a pocket. Fill each of the pockets with 1/6 of the cheese mixture. At this point, you can put the chicken into a freezer bag or container and freeze for future use if desired. Combine the cream, garlic, cornstarch, and more of the onion confit (or remaining tomatoes if using them). Again, this can be put into a freezer bag or container and frozen for future use at this point. When ready to cook, thaw the chicken and sauce in the refrigerator overnight. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Heat the oil in a large ovenproof skillet over medium to medium high heat. Brown the chicken on one side. Turn it over and place the skillet of chicken in the oven for about 20-25 minutes (internal temperature should read 160 degrees). Take the chicken out of the skillet and put aside (keeping it warm – I put it on a plate and cover with a couple thicknesses of foil). Now to prepare the sauce: put the sauce into the skillet you used for the chicken and cook at medium to medium high heat, whisking frequently. As you whisk, you want to deglaze the pan by loosening the brown bits from the bottom of the pan. Cook until thickened. Stir in the chives. Serve!!!
Caramelized Onion Confit
6 large onions sliced very thin (I used my mandoline to get a really thin cut)
2 T. butter
2 T. olive oil
1 T. brown sugar
1 tsp. salt
1 T. balsamic vinegar
20 peppercorns, cracked
2-4 bay leaves
1/4 to 1/2 cup wine (red or white, your preference – I love the taste of a merlot in this)
Cook the onions in the butter and olive oil very slowly until caramelized. Add the remaining ingredients except the wine, cover the pan, and simmer on low for 20 minutes. Keep an eye on this and add a little more balsamic vinegar or a splash of the wine to keep it moist. Add the wine, rase the heat a bit, and stir scraping the bottom of the pan to deglaze it by lifting up the browned bits. Cook for about 4-5 minutes. This is so good served with meats and poultry (try using it on a turkey sandwich as a spread with some cranberry sauce), pate, and over cheeses (it makes a delicious spread on a cheese sandwich).
Keep leftovers in a jar in the refrigerator for about 3-6 months. Can be heated up or served at room temperature.
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