Finally drafted Herotica 7 call. Huzzah! Sent it off to Nalo et al for comments. If I keep up like this, I should soon be caught up with all those nasty tasks I've been avoiding (hmm...weren't there some classes at Berkeley I was supposed to finish?), which means I won't be able to procrastinate about writing any more. We hope.
I can't quite believe this, but I'm actually watching basketball tonight. It's Kevin's fault. He started explaining things to me in the last Knicks/Spurs game, and now I'm hooked. I should get back to it; the second half is starting soon. So I'll just leave you with this, by request from one of you (it's easier than it looks):
Chicken Stuffed with Spinach, Tomatoes and Fruit
(serves six)
Ingredients:
1/2 cup dried apricots, sliced
1/4 cup raisins
2 tablespoons (1/4 stick) butter
1 cup chopped seeded peeled tomatoes (I used canned)
1 10-ounce package frozen spinach, thawed
6 boneless chicken breast halves with skin
Kitchen string
Directions:
1. Soak dried fruit in hot water to cover for 15 minutes. Drain.
2. Cook spinach according to package directions. Drain, cool, squeeze
out excess water.
3. Melt 1 tablespoon butter in heavy medium skillet over medium-high
heat. Add tomatoes and saut tomatoes until almost all liquid evaporates,
about 4 minutes. Stir in fruit and saut 2 minutes. Season with salt and
pepper.
4. Using sharp knife, cut horizontal slit 3/4 of the way through each
chicken breast. Open as for book. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Place
thin layer of spinach over half of each breast. Top spinach with 2
tablespoons fruit mixture. Close breasts over filling. Tie with kitchen
string.
5. Preheat oven to 425F. Melt 1 tablespoon butter in large skillet over
medium-high heat. Sprinkle chicken with salt and pepper; brown in
skillet, about 4 minutes per side. Transfer to baking sheet. Bake until
chicken is cooked through, about 15 minutes.
6. Remove string from chicken. Cut each breast crosswise into 5
slices.
This recipe is a little dry, but I didn't like the sauce that came with it in the original Epicurious recipe (they also used chopped mushrooms, which I decided against). So I recommend serving this with something nice and moist -- and not too sweet! It was really delicious, even dry.
Have a good weekend, my dears. Happy Friday!