GF: My Favorite Chicken

Maybe this is my favorite chicken because I don’t make it. My love makes it. And oh, there is something special about the days when you don’t cook nor clean and someone does it for you.

It’s a deep act of love, I think. And even if it was made because he was starving (I wasn’t all that hungry tonight.. LOL), I will believe it was a deep act of love. It makes me smile. LOL

My love is called the “Iron Chef” by my family because of the delicious dishes he creates with ease. It’s almost as though the herbs and spices sing to him and he knows their blends without worry. I, the one who loves to be in the kitchen and creating, am less sure of my flavor combinations and sometimes less creative on the fly. I appreciate his creativity and willingness to blend, balance, and coax the best flavors out of whatever we have in the kitchen. Hmm. That makes me wonder if we should create a new house rule: HE cooks BEFORE grocery shopping and I cook AFTER. 😉 I’ll be sure ot have my ingredients and he is talented with whatever we have on hand. Oh… I think it’s a good plan!

Something tells me he may not think his side of the bargain is so shiny, huh?

Oh well. At least I had my favorite chicken tonight!

The best part about this recipe is that he always makes extras so I have some for lunch the next day. Now that I’m back at work, that’s music to my ears. I don’t have as much play time in the kitchen and have lesson planning, etc at night. So, it’s lovely when dinner does double duty. 😉

My Favorite Chicken
Ingredients:
3 chicken breasts
1/3 cup fresh basil leaves
4 cloves of garlic, crushed under the blade of a knife and finely chopped
4 1/2 Tablespoons of butter, in 1/2 tablespoon pieces
+2 Tablespoons of butter (for pan)
salt and pepper to flavor/season
sake (maybe 1 cup?)

Directions:

  1. Rinse and pat dry each chicken breast.
  2. Slice the breast open lengthwise but don’t split it. You are making a pocket or butterflied-breast that is still connected on one side.
  3. Into each breast pocket or on top of one side of the butterflied chicken breast, lay 1 1/2 Tablespoons of butter, 1/3 of the garlic, and 1/3 of the basil leaves. Close the breast pocket or fold over the attached side.
  4. Heat an oven-proof skillet over medium-high heat. Melt 2 Tablespoons of butter until frothy/foamy.
  5. Preheat oven to 425F
  6. Add chicken breasts to hot pan. Let sizzle and brown (3-4 minutes depending on thickness of breast).
  7. Carefully flip each breast over. (Be careful not to open the “pocket” or have the butter/garlic/basil fall out.)
  8. Brown new side for 3 minutes then add 1 cup of sake to pan.
  9. Put chicken in to oven to finish cooking. (5-6 minutes + depending on thickness of chicken breasts.)
  10. Spoon some of the pan juices over the chicken after plating. Serve with oven-broiled sweet peppers and cauliflower.

Enjoy!

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