Pan Seared Chicken Breasts With CranCherry Sauce
and Blue Cheese Crumbles
Karen Harris of Castle Rock won the $25,000 first prize in Ocean Spray’s Ultimate Cranberry Recipe Contest in a live cooking contest Friday at the De Gustibus Culinary School in New York. She beat out 2,000 other recipes for the title. Serves 6.
Ingredients
4 slices hickory smoked bacon, sliced across in 1/2-inch pieces
1 small yellow onion, cut into thin rings and sliced into quarters
6 ounces sliced button mushrooms
1 large clove garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon fresh thyme
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 1/2 cups red wine,
divided
1 cup cherry flavor Ocean Spray Craisins sweetened dried
cranberries
1/2 teaspoon salt
6 medium-sized organic boneless and skinless chicken breasts
2 tablespoons steak seasoning (or your own mixture of salt, black pepper, red pepper, garlic, paprika)
1 teaspoon garlic powder
3 tablespoons oil
1/2 cup cherry preserves
2 tablespoons blue cheese crumbles
1 tablespoon fresh parsley, coarsely chopped
Directions
In a medium frying pan over medium-high heat, sauté bacon until it starts to brown and the fat starts to render. Add onion and mushrooms. Cook until onions are brown around the edges and mushrooms are slightly wilted, approximately 3-5 minutes.
Add garlic, thyme and red pepper flakes and cook 1 minute before adding 1/2 cup wine and salt. Cover; reduce heat and simmer, stirring frequently until ready to use.
Place remaining wine into a small bowl with Craisins. Cover and allow to soak until ready to use.
Lay chicken breasts in a single layer on a clean surface. In a small cup, combine steak seasoning and garlic powder. Sprinkle half the mixture over breasts, gently pressing spices into meat, before turning and sprinkling the rest on the other side.
Place a large frying pan over medium heat. Add oil and heat. When oil is hot, add chicken breasts. Cook 5-7 minutes on each side, being careful not to burn (chicken and spices should be a rich brown and juices should run clear when done).
Remove pan from heat and transfer chicken to a plate. Cover tightly with foil and allow to rest 5 minutes.
While breasts are resting, return frying pan to heat. Use a spoon to loosen any bits that are still in the pan. Pour in wine and Craisins. Allow mixture to heat to a boil, stirring frequently; allow it to reduce by about 1/3 its original volume. Whisk in cherry preserves, reduce heat to low.
Place equal amounts of mushroom mixture on 6 warm plates. Top with a chicken breast and a generous amount of the crancherry sauce over the top. Sprinkle with blue cheese crumbles and parsley. Serve immediately.
