Not Just Another Chicken Dish

One of my favorite restaurants serves a chicken dish which is not named for my son-in-law, though it is his favorite.  Bryan introduced it to us, and even though I was a little leery of goat cheese, I gave it a try.  I have to admit that I am an all-American girl, and at my ripe age am just now beginning to expand my food horizons in many ways.  I have not been restricted to meat and potatoes, and felt for years that I was adventurous, but truth be known, my excursions into ethnic food territories have always been terribly Americanized. I guess you could say I have a somewhat timid palette. 

After we tried this chicken dish, which consisted of a lemon butter sauce over grilled chicken covered with sun-dried tomatoes and goat cheese, I was hooked.  The combination of flavors was extraordinary.  There was sweetness, tartness, and tang.  Amazing.  We found a recipe for this dish on line and began to make it at home.  Being me, of course, I had to find new ways to adapt it and twist it. 

You can buy goat cheese in a log, which can be sliced or pinched off.  It is thick and creamy this way.  You can also buy it in crumbles, not unlike feta cheese.  If you are going to top your chicken, or other meat, you need the log style.  If you want to make a stuffed meat, the crumbles work best.  I am going to give you my recipe today for stuffed chicken breasts, because the other recipe can be found easily on line under ‘Chicken Bryan’.  This also can be used with 1” thick loin pork chops.  Be sure that they are boneless, of course.

Ingredients:

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

2 Tb. minced garlic

½ C. minced onion

4 Tb. butter

½ C. dry white wine

¼ C. lemon juice

2/3 C. Cold sliced butter

1-1/2 C. chopped sun dried tomatoes

¼ C. chopped fresh basil

½ tsp. kosher salt

½ tsp. white pepper

8 oz. goat cheese crumbles

Olive oil

Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees.  Melt butter in large skillet over medium heat.  Saute garlic and onion until tender.  Stir wine and lemon juice into skillet, turn heat to medium high; simmer until reduced to half.  Meanwhile, slice pockets into breasts carefully, making sure not to cut completely through.  When sauce is reduced, reduce heat to low and add butter one pat at a time, stirring continually.  Add tomatoes and basil.  Finally add salt and pepper.  Remove from heat.  Stir in goat cheese.  Stuff the chicken breasts with about 2/3 of tomato and cheese mixture, setting aside remainder to keep warm.  Brush chicken with olive oil, and coat baking dish with scant amount to keep chicken from sticking. Bake for 25-30 minutes, until chicken is done.  Use remainder of stuffing for garnish.  (This is where if you have log goat cheese, it makes for excellent toppitng)

**The other way of doing this, of course, is to not stuff, but to grill the chicken breasts while making the sauce and simply cover the grilled chicken with the wonderful concoction we have made.  Simply place the breasts, brushed with olive oil, salt and pepper, on the grill for the normal time: 6-8 minutes per side.  Place about 2 oz. of goat cheese on each breast, then spoon the tomato mixture over each and serve.**

I have found that having extra sauce is a benefit for my family, as they really like a ‘gravy’ feature.  They also really like the sauce.  So if you double the amounts to make the sauce, you may not regret it.  I usually add garlic mashed red potatoes, some steamed vegetables and garlic bread with it.  It also pairs great with any sort of pasta!  Bon Appetit!!