Ruby-Red Grapefruit Chicken

Long ago, former President Gerald R. Ford (or more likely, Betty) submitted this easy cranberry chicken recipe to a magazine as one of his favorite dishes. It's pretty and tasty and easy, especially if you cheat a bit and use canned grapefruit sections as I usually do. Stash the rest of the can of cranberries in a baggie in the freezer til the next time you make this dish.

Peel and section 2 ruby-red grapefruit, squeezing all the juice from the membranes into a small saucepan. ( or, use a can of grapefruit sections and about 1/2 c. juice). Add 1/2 c whole-berry cranberry sauce (not jellied), 2-3 heaping TB honey, 1/4 tsp ground cloves, 1/4 tsp salt and mix well. Bring to a boil and stir in grapefruit sections.Remove from heat. Adjust the honey if necessary- but it shouldnt be overly sweet. Sugar-free honey saves calories!

Brown a fying chicken in 3 TB butter, then place in shallow baking dish. Top with grapefruit-cranberry sauce. Bake in a preheated 350 oven for about 45 minutes, basting often.

Swiss Lemon Chicken

Not just delicious, but efficent, since its just as good  prepared ahead and  run under the broiler just before serving.  The creamy swiss sauce has a subtle touch of lemon and white wine.

Rub 8  boneless, skinless chicken breast halves thoroughly with 1 tsp salt and 1/4 tsp pepper,  Spread 1/4 c. flour* on a paper plate or wax paper, and roll chicken to coat lightly on both sides.  Heat 1/4 c. butter or  margarine in  a large skillet and brown in two batches, about 2 minutes on each side. Remove to a plate as they brown.

To the pan, add 1 tsp fresh lemon zest, 2 TB lemon juice, 2 TB dry white wine and bring to boiling, stirring and scraping up browned bits from the pan.  Return chicken, all of it, to the pan.  Cover and lower the heat, simmer about 5 minutes.   Then arrange the breasts in a single layer in a 9x13 pan.   Stir 1/2 c. heavy cream into the  lemon-wine mixture and cook til bubbly, about 1 minute.   Pour over the chicken, and sprinkle with 1 cup shredded Swiss cheese.  Broil in a preheated broiler for about 5 minutes, until  bubbly and the cheese begins to brown. 

* if avoiding flour, you can skip it, making this an essentially carb-free  taste sensation. I've also used whole wheat flour, and really, it's almost as good without flour at all

Buttermilk Cider Chicken

I see it's not on their posted menu but the Colonial Inn in Concord, MA is known for dishes like this delicious recipe that was featured in one of the cooking magazines a while back. . If you are in the Boston area, plan to visit this charming inn, a National Historic Landmark. Maybe they'll be serving this chicken when you visit.

Place 4 skinless boneless chicken breast halves in a glass dish in 1 c buttermilk. Turn to coat, cover, and refrigerate overnight.

Melt 1 tb butter in a heavy large skillet over medium-high heat. Add 1 red delicious apple and one Granny Smith apple, both cored and cut in 8 wedges. Saute til golden, about 5 minutes, then transfer to a bowl. To the same skillet, add 1 c. apple cider and boil til reduced to 1/2 c, about 8 minutes. Add 1 c. chicken broth and 1 c. heavy cream. Boil til sauce is reduced in half, about 15 minutes.

Darin chicken. Mix flour with salt and pepper. Coat chicken with the flour and cook in heavy skillet in hot oil until browned and cooked through, about 5 minutes per side. Transfer to plates and keep in oven or tent with foil to keep warm. Add apples to the same skillet and reheat over medium heat. Divide the apples among the plates, Add the sauce to the pan and reheat. Stir in 2 TB chives, adjust seasoning to taste, Pour sauce over chicken and sprinkle with chopped pecans if you like.

http://www.concordscolonialinn.com/