Cider Glazed Chicken with Apple Shallot Vinaigrette

Soooo, I'm still holding strong on this no gluten, no legumes, no starch, no dairy, no sugar thing.   I spent my first week down in the dumps about not being able to bake, but then I started realizing how many dinner recipes I have that I want to try.  One thing that I have going in my favor is that I LOVE TO COOK.  There are a lot of recipes I have in my folder to try that involve none of the above ingredients.  My spirits are raised- I may not be making sweets and fun colored treats to eat, but I am making delicious, healthy meals for my family to enjoy.

This is a recipe that has caught my eye when flipping through my recipe binder several times.  Last night, I was planning on making chicken soup, but Dave came home with a gallon of fresh pressed apple cider and it was like fate.  This dinner was more than I imagined it would be.  The homemade vinaigrette set this over the top!  Eating an apple dipped in the vinaigrette, made a sweet taste, almost like I had sprinkled sugar on top of it (yes, I'm getting desperate!).  But, seriously, I was surprised by how delicious it was and I was excited when there was enough left over chicken for me to make another salad for lunch the next day.  This is a great recipe to try to kick off the fall apple season!

Cider Glazed Chicken:
2 TBSP grapeseed or olive oil
4 boneless chicken breasts
salt and pepper to taste
1/2 cup apple cider
1 TBSP cider vinegar

Apple Shallot Vinaigrette:
1 medium apple (Gala or McIntosh)
1 shallot
3/4 tsp mustard powder
3 TBSP grapeseed or olive oil
2 TBSP cider vinegar

Garnish:
Slivered Almonds

1) Preheat the oven to 400'.

2) Heat an oven safe skillet with 2 TBSP oil in it over medium heat.  Sprinkle salt and pepper on chicken.  Cook chicken on one side until browned (about 4 min), flip, cook then flip and brown other side.  Place pan in oven and bake until chicken is cooked through (12-15 min). When chicken is cooked, remove pan from oven, place chicken on a plate to cool, return pan to a burner for the cider glaze.

3) Mince the apple and the shallot, place in a small bowl.  Mix in the cider vinegar and mustard and set aside to marinate, about 10 minutes.  After the ten minutes, add in the 3 TBSP oil, season with salt and pepper to taste, mix and set aside for later.

4) In the pan that you placed back on the burner, add the cider- heat over medium heat.  Stir the cider, scraping bit off the bottom of the pan.  Boil and reduce the liquid by half, about 2-3 minutes.  Add the 1 TBSP cider vinegar.  Mix, remove pan from heat (optional to swirl in 1 TBSP butter).  Set sauce aside until serving.

5) Shred chicken breasts into bite sized pieces- throw them in the pan with the cider sauce, mix it up to coat.   Place chicken on top fresh lettuce.  Cut the remaining apple into thin slices- place this in the bowl with the chicken and lettuce.  Drizzle on the apple shallot dressing.  Optional, sprinkle on a handful of slivered almonds.

Source: Bon Appetit November 2011

Hope you like it!