Tuesday, October 21, 2008

Chicken with Cranberry Sauce


I'm a huge fan of Thanksgiving dinner. Its one of my top ten favorite meals. This recipe is a good short cut for when you want the flavors of a Thanksgiving dinner without all the work. This meal requires only a few ingredients and very little prep so its especially good for a weeknight meal. Sauteing the onions in the chicken sauce adds a nice depth of flavor to the cranberry sauce and prevents it from being overly sweet. I used boneless, skinless chicken breasts and my chicken was a bit dry. Next time, I would use the bone-in chicken breasts called for in the recipe. I served this meal with roasted sweet potatoes and stuffing. Another bonus, cranberries are high in antioxidants thus adding an extra health benefit to this meal!

Chicken with Cranberry Sauce
Source: Everday Food: Great Food Fast by Martha Stewart Living Magazine

Serves 4

  • 2 tablespoons butter
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons dried thyme
  • Coarse salt and ground pepper
  • 4 bone-in chicken breasts (8 ounces each)
  • 1 medium onion, finely chopped (about 1 cup)
  • 1/2 teaspoon dried sage
  • 2 cups reduced-sodium chicken broth
  • 1 cup cranberries
  • 1/4 cup sugar
  • 1 teaspoon cornstarch (mixed with 1 tablespoon water)
  1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees. In a small bowl, mix 1 tablespoon butter, 1 teaspoon thyme, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Rub evenly under chicken skin. Place on a rimmed baking sheet; roast skin side up until skin is golden brown and meat is cooked through, about 25 minutes.
  2. Meanwhile, melt remaining tablespoon butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. Cook onion, stirring occasionally, until golden, about 8 minutes. Add sage and remaining 1/2 teaspoon thyme; cook 1 minute. Add broth; simmer until reduced to 1 1/2 cups, 10 to 15 minutes. Strain mixture; return to saucepan.
  3. Add cranberries and sugar; boil until berries burst, 5 to 8 minutes. Whisk in cornstarch mixture; return to a boil. Cook until slightly thickened, 1 to 2 minutes. Remove from heat (sauce will thicken as it stands). Season with salt and pepper. To serve, spoon sauce over chicken.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Looks GREAT! I love cranberry!!

Colleen said...

It looks so pretty and festive!

Unknown said...

I never think of eating cranberry without Thanksgiving. I love it. So, why not? I'm going to have to ponder that a bit.