Chicken Bryan

It's no surprise that I love to eat. When I go to a restaurant, one of my all-time favorite dishes is Chicken Bryan at Carrabba's. I get this every time without fail. It is so delicious I crave it often. Simply stated it's a chicken breast covered in goat cheese, sun-dried tomatoes and a lemon butter sauce. I don't know why I haven't tried to recreate it before, but I made the attempt tonight and it was wonderful! For about the cost of one serving at the restaurant I was able to feed my entire family of four and it was every bit as good as the restaurant version. Surprisingly, this was super easy to make as well and didn't require much prep work. The recipe below is a combination of several I found online and a few of my own tweaks and feeds 4. Enjoy!

HELPFUL HINTS

1. The sauce should not be made too far in advance or it will begin to separate. Make it right before you're ready to serve.

2. I don't have alcohol in our home so I typically use cooking wine and for this recipe it substituted just fine.
3. You can buy the sun-dried tomatoes already julienned although sometimes they come in a jar or can packaged in oil. Since you don't want that extra flavoring, you can rinse them in hot water and then pat them dry.

INGREDIENTS

Basil Lemon Butter Sauce

1/2 cup butter

2 tsp minced garlic

2 tsp lemon juice

1 Tbs white wine

1/8 tsp salt

1/8 tsp white pepper

1/3 cup heavy cream

8 basil leaves, sliced

Chicken and Assembly

4 skinless chicken breasts

Vegetable oil

Salt

Freshly cracked black pepper

1/2 cup sun-dried tomatoes, julienned

4 slabs of Goat cheese

DIRECTIONS

Basil Lemon Butter Sauce

1. Melt butter in small saucepan over low heat.

2. Add garlic and sauté for 5 minutes.

3. Add the lemon juice and wine and cook another 5 minutes.

4. Add salt, pepper and cream and reduce heat to low.

5. Cook for 15 minutes over low heat until thick, stirring often.

Chicken

1. Preheat a barbecue grill to high.

2. Use a kitchen mallet to flatten the thick part of the breasts so they will cook evenly.

3. Rub each breast with oil, then sprinkle with salt and pepper.

4. Grill for 3-5 minutes per side or until done.

Assembly

1. When the chicken is done, place each breast on a plate.

2. Place a slice of cheese and then a pile of sun-dried tomatoes on top of each chicken breast.

3. Stir the sliced basil leaves into the sauce.

4. Spoon the sauce over the chicken and serve.

Spinach and Goat's Cheese Risotto

This recipe combines several different risotto recipes into one that has a taste that is out of this world. I have a few favorite risotto dishes and love the risotto base in this one which includes celery and onion and provided a great texture to the final dish. I loved the creamy zing of the goat cheese too. I have made this a handful of times and it never fails to please. The recipe below yields about 6-8 servings. Enjoy!

HELPS

1. The finer your dice on the onion and celery, the better. If the dice is not fine enough, the risotto will end up being a little crunchy instead of smooth and creamy.

2. Not all brands of arborio rice are the same. When shopping, don't go for the cheapest brand. My favorite brand is Rice Select which sells for about $6 a jar.

3. If you don't have fresh nutmeg, you can substitute 1 tsp of ground nutmeg.

INGREDIENTS
2 Tbs Olive oil plus splash
10 Tbs butter
1 clove garlic, minced
2-3 grates fresh nutmeg
Sea salt and pepper to taste
4 cans chicken broth
1 Large onion, finely diced
4 sticks celery, trimmed, finely diced
1 lb arborio rice
5 oz fresh spinach
1 1/2 cups freshly grated parmesan
Juice from 1 lemon
6 oz goat's cheese

DIRECTIONS
1. Heat medium sautee pan over medium high heat.
2. Add splash of olive oil, 1 Tbs butter, garlic and nutmeg and stir.
















3. When butter has melted, add spinach and cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.

4. Salt and pepper to taste.
5. Remove from pan and finely chop, then set aside.
















6. In medium sauce pan, keep broth warm over medium heat.
7. In large heated pan, add 2 Tbs olive oil, 1 Tbs butter, onion and celery and cook for 5 minutes.
















8. Add arborio rice and stir occasionally, for about 5 minutes.
















9. Add broth 1 cup at a time, stirring regularly.
















10. When broth is gone, remove from heat and add butter, parmesan and lemon juice, mixing well.
















11. Add spinach and gently mix.
















12. Cover and let rest for a few minutes.
13. Add 1/2 of the goat's cheese and fold in.
















14. Plate and sprinkle remaining goat's cheese on top.