CHICKEN WITH CHERRY-WINE SAUCE
I love trying out new recipes. I have been known to spend countless hours collecting recipes, comparing nutritional content, and finding ways to make them healthier if needed. So, when I stumbled on this recipe for an at-home date night, I just had to try it!
I was pretty excited to get to incorporate cherries. As a kid, I remember drinking Shirley Temples all the time (in retrospect, probably not the healthiest drink for a kid). My favorite part was the maraschino cherries they would put in my drink. I’d always ask for extra cherries! That, of course, was before I knew that maraschino cherries were beyond sugar-filled. Now that I try to fuel my body to be its best, I avoid my childhood favorite.
However, cherries are so good for you! They have so many antioxidants that help to fight free-radicals in your body. I try to eat cherries from time to time for this reason. I love to put cherries in my smoothies from time to time. Don’t forget, cherries are a part of the dirty dozen! Make sure when you buy cherries, to buy organic cherries if possible!
This dinner was pretty easy to make. It didn’t require a lot of ingredients which was also nice for a date-night dinner. I cooked the chicken with just a little olive oil and black pepper.
While the chicken was cooking, I started on the cherry-wine sauce. For the sauce, you’ll need balsamic vinegar, chicken broth, lemon, shallot, and fresh thyme.
I picked Gunsight Rock Cabernet Sauvignon, but any red wine (preferably a Cab), would probably be just as good. I planned on a small glass of wine with my dinner so I picked a Cab I wouldn’t mind having a glass of with my meal!
You could make any side dish to go with this chicken – asparagus, broccoli, zucchini, or a side salad. My husband happens to love broccoli so we make it at least twice per week.
For the cherry sauce, I used frozen dark sweet cherries (because I had them in my freezer for my smoothies already). I’m sure fresh cherries would be even better!
The cherry-wine sauce simmered for probably a total of 5 minutes. I have to admit, my mouth was watering at this point. Doesn’t that just look delicious? Of course, my cooking buddy, Bandit, also found the aromas to be quite enticing!
The recipe I followed called for two tablespoons of butter. While this is probably not much, I opted to alter this part only. I used the first tablespoon to saute the shallots, but I did not add the extra tablespoon into the sauce at the end. I only added the lemon juice. I felt like the sauce came out perfectly without the extra tablespoon, so I would definitely do that again, and maybe even omit the first tablespoon and use olive oil to saute the shallots.
This was an amazing dinner! My husband and I both loved it and all of the flavors in the sauce. If you’d like to try it yourself, you can find the recipe on this blog:
http://iowagirleats.com/2014/02/12/chicken-with-cherry-wine-pan-sauce/