Balsamic Braised Chicken

My spring break is coming to a close. I have decided that my blog looks too plain and needs some cool new background. I guess I'll be working on that this weekend with my artsy friends at school. Meanwhile, I watched Alice and Wonderland and found it to be quite exciting because I have always wondered how Disney would portray the future Alice. On a side note ... this movie was far better to watch than the animated one because there weren't so many colors to make your head spin.

For yesterday's lunch, I made balsamic braised chicken after reading my new Italian cookbook, Williams-Sonoma Essentials of Italian Cooking. Quite a simple and delicious dish to be served with asparagus and rice. The sauce itself is sweet and tangy due to the balsamic vinegar and red wine mixture. I would recommend this dish if you are serving a crowd for a party because of its simplicity.

Balsamic Braised Chicken



Ingredients
1 chicken breast
2 cloves garlic (unpeeled)
2/3 cup red wine
2 tbs balsamic vinegar
1 tsp Rosemary
Salt and white pepper

Prep work
1. Pat chicken dry
2. Salt and pepper the chicken

Cooking
1. Heat up moderate amount of olive oil in a pan
2. Throw in garlic and chicken and cook on medium-low, flipping occasionally for 10 minutes to slowly brown the chicken
3. Add in rosemary, vinegar, and red wine and stir chicken around and cover for 5 minutes on low heat to allow liquid to simmer slowly and cover
4. Turn chicken over and simmer for 5 minutes until liquid is reduced to a sauce (do this uncovered)
5. Serve with rice and asparagus

Note: If sauce is too acidic, add water and cornstarch mix.

Tonight, I am debating whether I shall make lasagna or make something with my wasabi powder.