Browsing the internet today, I read about a recipe for dieters that sounded pretty good in the description. Chicken in Red Wine Sauce. Hmmm, I thought. I could get into that. Listed below are the ingredients as shown in the recipe. You tell me what’s wrong with this recipe.
1 Tbsp. olive oil
1 1/2 Tbsp. minced garlic
3 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breast halves
1 Tbsp. paprika
3/4 cup brown sugar
1 cup red wine
Sea salt & Pepper to taste
Read the recipe carefully. This recipe should be called Chicken Breasts in Sugar. In the first place, the recipe developer started off with boneless, skinless chicken breasts which have about as much flavor as shirt boards. So, she/he decided those poor tasteless breasts needed some help. Little olive oil, check, little garlic, check, paprika, check. Now comes the dicey part. 3/4 cup brown sugar. Are you kidding me? And 1 cup red wine?
What started off as a mildly interesting recipe just veered off into sugar shock hell. Not to mention the directions which said dump all that stuff together and bake. Trust me,my friends, this is no cooking technique to emulate.
If you’d like to make chicken in red wine sauce – and who wouldn’t, here’s a better flavored recipe that will not wreck your diet. In the first place buy ONLY organic chicken. You know all the reasons. Use a French cooking technique. That my friends will guarantee a product as good as your French Country grandmother could make. Serve it atop saffron colored spaghetti squash and you have yourself a dinner.
Chicken In Red Wine Sauce
2 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
6 cloves garlic, smashed
1 cup dry red wine
6 chicken thighs with skin and bones
sea salt and freshly cracked black pepper
Heat oil and butter in an oven proof skillet. Add garlic and cook until golden, about 30 seconds. Add red wine and cook down to about 1/2 cup. Add chicken thighs, turning to coat all sides in the sauce. Season with salt and pepper. Cover and put into a 375 degree oven. Cook 40 minutes.
Serve on a bed of just cooked spaghetti squash*. Yum.
To cook spaghetti squash, pierce a whole one several times (so it doesn’t explode) and bake in the oven or microwave until tender. About 5 minutes in the micro, about 15 in the oven. Remove from the oven, split it in half. Scoop out seeds. Using a fork, scrape out the flesh into long strands. Season generously with salt, pepper, and butter.
