Roasted Chicken Breasts w/ Broccoli and Pan Reduction

We've finally reached Friday!

How was everyone's?  Ours has been pretty boring.  Work and school.  Work and school.  I had yesterday and today off of work so we've been keeping pretty busy.  We ended up carving our pumpkins last night - I did a Grim Reaper and it was AWESOME!  Don't know what we'll end up doing tonight, but I wouldn't complain if we just snuggled up on the couch and watched a Netflix movie! 

Anyway, this is another simple meal!  And it's healthy, to boot!  Sauces can be as complex or as simple as you make them.  This dish utilizes the simplest of all sauces.  A pan reduction.  That's basically taking the little bits left over in a pan (fond) from sauteing a piece of meat and deglazing the pan with liquid.  In our case, wine and chicken stock.  Then reducing that liquid until it's thick, and then we mount it with butter to get a sheen and added flavor.  Easy enough, right?! Right.

Ingredients:

2 chicken breasts
1-2 tablespoons olive oil
salt and pepper, to taste

Redux:

2 cups chicken stock
1/3 cup onion, diced
1/4 cup carrot, diced
1/4 cup celery, diced
1/2 cup white wine
2 parsley stems
1 bay leaf
pinch of dried thyme
salt and pepper, to taste
1 tablespoon unsalted butter

1 cup broccoli crowns, blanched
toasted sliced almonds, for garnish
salt and pepper, to taste

First, we'll fortify our chicken stock.  You don't necessarily have to do this, but I feel it adds more flavor to those store-bought chicken stocks that always seem so bland.

In a large saucepan, combine the chicken stock, onion, carrot, celery, white wine, parsley stems, bay leaf, and thyme.  Simmer for about 30 minutes, then strain, discarding the solids.  Don't worry about seasoning it with salt and pepper, because we'll do that after it's reduced.  If you do it now, you'll end up intensifying the salt flavor when you reduce it and it'll end up being overkill in the end.

Heat the oil in a large saute pan under medium high heat.  Season chicken breasts with salt and pepper.  Add to pan and cook until golden brown on both sides and white throughout.  Transfer to a plate, cover, and let rest while you make your sauce.

Deglaze the saute pan with your fortified stock, scraping up the little pieces stuck to the bottom.  Reduce by at least half, then mount with the butter.  Season with salt and pepper, to taste.

To plate, place about 1/2 cup of broccoli crowns in center of plate. Top with chicken breast (you can cut it in half like I did if your chicken breast is too big).  Drizzle sauce on top of chicken and around plate.  Voila!  Dinner time!

Hope you all have a great weekend!

Pork Chops w/ Balsamic Blueberry Reduction

Happy Monday everybody!

How was everyone's weekend?  Ours was pretty busy!  Spent the day Saturday doing tons of errands.  Haircut and color (much-needed - and it looks hot!) was a major highlight.  Hehe, no pun intended.  But we also managed to snag lunch at the first ever Louisville Food Truckus Ruckus.  In a matter of just a few short months, Louisville's food truck scene has exploded.  There's at least 8 or so regulars around town now.  Pretty awesome right?  We got a chance to sample works from Busta Grill (one of the best Chicken Sausages ever - topped with a chimichurri coleslaw and tomato/basil pesto was seriously delicious!).  And then MozzaPi's Thai Pi was awesome too.  Curry, bean sprouts, cilantro, and peanuts made for one delicious pie.  And the truck itself was nothing short of amazing - they had a crazy cool wood-fire grill on the end of the truck to cook all of their pizzas to order!

Anyway... I never got around to posting any of those Red, White, & Blue Party recipes last week, did I?  Well, have no fear, I've got a mighty delicious one planned for today!

Ingredients:
Adapted from Rock Recipes' Recipe

8 bone-in pork chops
3 tablespoons olive oil
3 garlic cloves, minced
salt and pepper, to taste
1/2 cup white wine
1/2 teaspoon thyme
pinch of nutmeg
3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1 cup blueberries
2 tablespoons brown sugar
juice from 1 lemon
3 tablespoons unsalted butter

Preheat oven to lowest temperature (mine was 170F).  Heat a large non-stick skillet (a cast iron works well here) under medium high heat and add olive oil. 

Season pork chops with salt and pepper on both sides.  Add 2 pork chops at a time to the skillet and cook for about 4-5 minutes per side.  Let pork chops keep warm in the preheated oven on a baking sheet.

To make reduction, combine garlic, white wine, thyme, nutmeg, balsamic vinegar, blueberries, and brown sugar under high heat in a saucepan.  Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer for about 10 minutes or until mixture is slightly thickened.  Stir in lemon juice and butter and simmer for a couple more minutes.  Season with salt and pepper, to taste.

Top pork chops with blueberry reduction and dig in!

This is definitely one of those meals that is simple, but sure to impress!  I loved the combo of blueberries and pork, and if you haven't tried it... you need to!

Hope you all have a great Monday!  But for now... I'm off to start Day 1 of my half-marathon training.  Good thing it's only a Stretch & Strengthen Day.  Should be easy =)