Apricot Chicken with Almonds

It was a pretty good week in the kitchen last week. I made a few new things and overall, the boys really liked them. It's funny how their tastes are so different already, but with this recipe and the other one I made (pork chops - see the other post)...I solidified that they, like me, love the sweet and savory thing. Pretty much any meat with something sweet = good.

I really do try to cook with boneless skinless chicken breasts as much as possible, but they can get boring after a while. I was happy, as always, to find another use for them with this recipe, which I followed exactly as it was written. This dish was even pretty enough for company and I rounded it out with some brown rice and steamed vegetables.

Apricot Chicken with Almonds (from Gourmet Magazine January 2005)

Timing - 30 minutes

Ingredients
4 (6 ounce) skinless boneless chicken breasts
5/8 t salt
1/2 t black pepper
1/3 cup sliced almonds
1/2 cup apricot preserves
1 1/2 T soy sauce
1 T whole-grain mustard
1 T unsalted butter

How to Make
Put oven rack in lower third of oven and preheat oven to 400 degrees. Lightly oil a 13x9 inch baking dish (something that can go under the broiler).

Pat chicken dry and sprinkle all over with 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper total, then arrange at least 1/4 inch apart in the baking dish. Bake 10 minutes.

While chicken bakes, toast almonds in a small baking pan in the oven, stirring twice, until golden, 8 to 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, cook apricot preserves, soy sauce, mustard, butter and remaining 1/8 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper in a small saucepan over moderate heat, stirring, until preserves are melted. Pour sauce over chicken and continue to bake until chicken is just cooked through, about 10 minutes more.

Turn on broiler and broil chicken 4 to 5 inches from heat, basting once, until chicken is glazed and browned in spots, about 3 minutes. Serve sprinkled with almonds.

Serves 4