Happy October!
Long-time readers will know that on the first Wednesday of each new month a group of cooks from across North American join together in the Cooking Light Virtual Supper Club. It was my turn to select the theme for the dinner - I went with 'A Wine Country Feast' in honour of the fact that I'll be spend a happy chunk of the month in California wine country.
Yeah!
This recipe intrigued me - a red wine sauce with chicken?
The chicken came out absolutely perfect; crispy on the outside and juicy on the inside – flavored with rosemary and thyme, and sauteed in a light, seasoned searing flour before roasting in the oven giving it a nice browned flavor. The wine sauce is the trickiest part – you want to cook down the wine in the sauce until it turns into a thick glaze and watch it so it doesn’t burn, stirring often. You'll see from my picture that we never quite got there. LOL
This was one of those dishes which is fancy enough for company but would be perfect for a week nitgh dinner.
Roasted Breast of Chicken with Pinot Noir Sauce
2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme
1/2 teaspoon salt, divided
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, divided
1/2 teaspoon chopped fresh rosemary
8 (6-ounce) skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon olive oil, divided
Cooking spray
3 tablespoons finely chopped shallots
2 cups pinot noir
1 1/2 cups fat-free, lower-sodium chicken broth
3/4 teaspoon sugar
3 tablespoons chilled butter, cut into small pieces
Preheat oven to 425°.
Sprinkle thyme, 1/4 teaspoon salt, 1/4 teaspoon pepper, and rosemary evenly over chicken. Dredge chicken in flour; shake off excess flour. Heat 1 1/2 teaspoons oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add 4 chicken breast halves to pan; cook 2 minutes or until browned. Turn chicken over; cook 1 minute. Remove chicken from pan. Repeat procedure with remaining 1 1/2 teaspoons oil and remaining chicken. Arrange chicken in a single layer on the rack of a roasting pan coated with cooking spray; place rack in pan. Bake at 425° for 12 minutes or until a thermometer inserted into thickest part of chicken registers 160°. Remove from oven. Cover and let stand 10 minutes.
Heat a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Coat pan with cooking spray. Add shallots to saucepan; sauté 30 seconds, stirring frequently. Stir in wine, scraping pan to loosen browned bits. Increase heat to high; bring to a boil. Cook 10 minutes or until wine is reduced to 1 cup. Add broth; cook 16 minutes or until broth mixture is reduced to 1/3 cup. Remove from heat; stir in remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt, remaining 1/4 teaspoon pepper, and sugar. Gradually add butter, stirring constantly with a whisk until smooth. Serve sauce with chicken.
Sounds good, Jerry. The problem I have always had with coq au vin is that red wine and how dark it makes the chicken. But delicious. I look forward to trying this recipe.
Posted by: Sarah Galvin (All Our Fingers in the Pie) | October 01, 2014 at 08:26 PM
sounds delicious! thank you for hosting our wine country feast!
Posted by: shelby | October 04, 2014 at 08:30 AM
It was a great way to celebrate the best of wine country. Thanks for popping by!
Posted by: JDeQ | November 08, 2014 at 07:27 AM