Fresh Herbs

If you have paid close attention to my previous recipe entries, you might have noticed that I use fresh herbs as opposed to the dried versions.  When I started cooking in the United States I never once bought fresh herbs.  To be honest, I'm not even sure I knew they existed.  I bought all types of the jarred McCormick spices and herbs and never thought twice about how using dried or fresh herbs could affect the flavor.  My good friend and section mate in the orchestra introduced me to the fresh herb world.  It started with the discovery of a small section of the produce department at Walmart: it contained bags of fresh rosemary, basil, thyme, parsley......  I mentioned this discovery to my section mate and she and her husband both commented on how much they enjoy cooking with fresh herbs.  Later that evening I cooked this recipe using my newly bought rosemary... and I haven't gone back to using dried herbs ever since.  I look forward to growing my own basil and rosemary plants so that I can always have these fresh herbs on hand.

Honey Rosemary Chicken

Ingredients
2 chicken breasts
EVOO
salt, pepper
1 large shallot, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
3 sprigs fresh rosemary, chopped
1/4 cup honey
1 tablespoon dijon mustard
juice of 1 lemon

1. Heat EVOO in large saucepan.  Season chicken simply with salt and pepper.  Add to pan and cook approximately 6 minutes on each side.

2. After chicken is done cooking, pull out of pan, place on a plate and cover with aluminom foil to keep warm.  Drain most of liquid out of pan.

3. In same pan, sautee shallot, garlic cloves, and rosemary.  If necessary, add more EVOO.  Cook 2-3 minutes until rosemary is fragrant. 

4. Add in honey and mustard.  Stir to create a yummy glaze.

5. Add chicken to pan.  Place glaze all over each chicken breast.

Bon appetit!

We usually pair this chicken dish with a side of vegetable rice pilaf (recipe to be added soon).  The honey glaze is very nice with the chicken and also along with the rice.  A great pairing.