It's been entirely too long since I have tried a new recipe, so tonight was the night! I have had this huge jar of apricot preserves left over in my fridge (used a little while ago for some incredible crostinis, just for kicks I will put the link in this post as well) and so I wanted to use it up in a creative way. I decided to try a recipe I found on AllRecipes.com called Apricot and Balsamic Chicken. It was very highly rated, so I thought I'd give it a shot.
The recipe method was simple enough - browning up some chicken and then simmering it in a sauce. It called for chicken breast tenderloins cut into bite size pieces, but I decided to use boneless skinless thighs because they have more flavor and they were a bit cheaper. As I cut them up, I realized that I needed a pan with a lid, and my large covered pan had not made the move with me because, well, I bought a cheap crappy one that I hated. So I had to use my pasta pot instead. I browned the chicken but immediately noticed the bottom of the pot was really too small to get a good color on them, and they were building up too much liquid. In retrospect I should have tried to drain some of it out but I didn't. The rest of the recipe was easy, essentially just putting the rest of the ingredients into the pot and letting them simmer. In went balsamic vinegar, onions, thyme, a full cup of apricot preserves, about 20 dried apricots, and some chicken stock.
In about 15 minutes the chicken was done and the apricots had softened and plumped up. However, I noticed the sauce was still very thin, even after simmering for a decent amount of time. But that said, it tasted very good! I spooned the chicken and apricots over some Trader Joe's Multigrain Pilaf, this odd side dish I recently discovered, made up of a lot of random grains that I can't remember. It's good anyway, and really healthy. I gave myself a little extra sauce too. The chicken was really tender from cooking in the sauce and the flavor was a very mild sweet and sour taste. The apricots are what really make the dish, they are soft and just sweet enough. I had plenty for a good dinner and I will bring it for lunch tomorrow too.
If I make it again, I would definitely get a proper pan, because I think getting the chicken really brown would add another layer of flavor. I had a little less chicken than the recipe called for, which might be why the sauce was so thin. I think it would benefit from a little heavier of a hand with the balsamic vinegar and slightly less chicken stock. The recipe also suggested adding a handful of chopped parsley at the end, which I left out because I knew I wouldn't be able to use up a whole bunch in time, but the dish probably could do with a little freshness. Overall, though, it was very tasty, simple, cheap, and easy!
Apricot and Balsamic Chicken:
http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Apricot-Chicken-with-Balsamic-Vinegar/Detail.aspx
Apricot and Chicken Bruschetta (leave out the chicken, even though it's in the name, you totally don't need it!):
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/everyday-italian/apricot-and-chicken-bruschetta-recipe/index.html
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