Chicken Marengo

This is a recipe I found and loved 40 years ago just after I got married.It uses bone in chicken breasts instead of boneless skinless breasts.The breasts with bone in make the result much more tender and succulent.

Ingredients:

4 Chicken breasts,bone in
1/4 cup all purpose flour
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
6 ounces button mushrooms,stems removed,and sliced
1 small shallot diced
1/2 cup dry red wine
1 cup beef stock
1 can(14.5 oz) petite diced tomatoes
2 cloves of garlic minced
1/2 teaspoon dry thyme
Salt and pepper

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees
Salt and pepper chicken breasts
Dredge chicken breasts in flour until coated.Shake off excess flour
Heat oil in saute pan,until hot but not smoking
Saute chicken breasts on each side for about 2 minutes
Place the chicken in oven proof pan and place in oven for about 15 minutes
Meanwhile,saute shallot and garlic in saute pan until golden
Add mushrooms and cook until moisture is no longer given off
Add red wine and boil down until wine is reduced by half,about a minute
Add tomatoes,beef stock,and thyme and simmer for about 5 minutes
Remove chicken breasts from oven and add them to sauce
Simmer chicken with sauce together for about 5 minutes,then serve

Rice goes well with this dish.
Serves 4

Chicken with Carmelized Onions and Basil Pesto

This recipe incorporates fresh basil pesto and caramelized onions -two of my favorite things.  I thought I could not make Basil Pesto until summer, but I was able to find a large bunch in my local grocery store. The recipe follows.

  Basil Pesto 

Ingredients:

 2 cups of basil pesto tightly packed
½ cup grated Parmesan cheese
½ cup of extra virgin olive oil
¼ cup toasted pine nuts. Be very careful because they burn easily. I put them in the toaster
  Oven for only 2 minutes at 350 degrees
¼ cup chicken stock
3 cloves of garlic chopped
1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
1 teaspoon salt

Preparation:

Place all ingredients in food processor and blend until smooth

Chicken with Caramelized Onions & Mushrooms

 Ingredients:

1 lb of boneless chicken breasts, trimmed and cut into 1 inch pieces
1 large onion sliced
8 oz of button mushrooms cleaned and sliced
4 tablespoons extra virgin oil
12 oz farfalle, cooked al dente

Preparation:

Add 2 tablespoons of olive oil to large fry pan. Heat until hot but not smoking
Cook chicken in large fry pan until lightly browned .Remove and set   aside
Add 1 tablespoon of olive oil to the same pan and heat oil over medium high heat
Sauté onions until they take on the color of real maple syrup about 10 minutes
In separate pan, cook mushrooms using the final tablespoon of olive oil
Mushrooms have a lot of water in them. You must cook them until no more steam is
formed.  They will then start to brown. This takes about 15 minutes
Add mushrooms and chicken to the pan of caramelized onions and heat thoroughly

Assembly:

Place cooked farfalle in a large bowl
Add ½ cup of pesto and stir until pasta is a shade of light green
Add chicken, onion and mushroom mixture to bowl
Mix thoroughly and serve 

Serves 4

                                                             Photo by Buzz Krivonak