Chicken With Apple, Cranberry and Bacon

Submitted by MarieRynr

"This dish is a real crowd pleaser. The sauce is absolutely gorgeous. You'll want to serve it with a crusty bread to soak up the delicious flavours. I served this at a luncheon yesterday and everyone left with the recipe!"

 

• Ready In: 45mins
• Ingredients: 16
• Serves: 4

ingredients

• 4 slices bacon, diced
• 1⁄2 cup flour
• 1⁄2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1⁄2 teaspoon poultry seasoning
• 4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 granny smith apple
• 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
• 1⁄3 cup minced shallot
• 2⁄3 cup apple juice
• 2⁄3 cup dry white wine
• 2⁄3 cup chicken broth
• 1⁄4 cup dried cranberries
• salt & freshly ground black pepper
• 1⁄4 cup whipping cream
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley

directions

1. Preheat oven to 175*F.
2. Warm a heat proof dish or plate in the oven to hold the chicken while you make the sauce.
3. Fry the bacon in a large skillet over medium heat until browned and crisp, about 5 minutes.
4. Scoop out with a slotted spoon and drain on paper towels.
5. Pour about 2 TBS of the drippings into a small dish and set aside; reserve the skillet with the remaining 2 TBS or so of bacon drippings for cooking the chicken.
6. Combine the flour, cinnamon and poultry seasoning in a shallow dish and stir to mix.
7. Dredge the chicken breasts in the seasoned flour, coating them well and patting to remove excess.
8. Add the oil to the skillet and heat over medium heat.
9. Add the breasts and cook until nicely browned and cooked through, turning once, 5 to 8 minutes per side.
10. Transfer the chicken to the warmed dish in the oven and reserve the skillet.
11. Peel, core and quarter the apple, then cut each quarter into 3 even slices.
12. Melt the butter in another skillet over medium heat and brown the apple on both sides, just until it begins to soften, about 4 minutes, turning once.
13. Remove from the heat and set aside.
14. Heat the reserved bacon fat in the large skillet over medium heat and saute the shallots until tender and aromatic, about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
15. Add the apple juice, wine, chicken broth and cranberries with salt and pepper to taste, scraping up the browned bits from the bottom of the pan.
16. Boil over medium high heat until reduced by almost half, about 10 minutes.
17. Add the cream and bacon, and gently stir in the apple slices.
18. Add the chicken and any liquid that has accumulated in the dish, turning to coat the breasts with the sauce.
19. Taste the sauce for seasoning and adjust if necessary.
20. Transfer the chicken and sauce to a serving platter or individual plates and sprinkle with parsley to serve.

Reviews

[mickeydownunder]

SECOND time making this, TRUE! Now placed in recipes "Tried and True!" Made this ahead...reheated when guests arrived, yes! Was there ANY left? GUESS!

 

[adopt a greyhound]

This is an awesome recipe. Even hours after supper my DH kept saying how good it was. This is a must try recipe.

 

[Stinkerbell]

As soon as I saw this recipe I knew I had to make it and so I printed it out right away, and I was not dissappointed. This was excellent. I did everything exactly as the recipe stated and was rewarded with the most delicious chicken I have ever eaten. I made it for a dinner party and everyone loved it! They all wanted the recipe, just like you said! Thanks for a great recipe!

 

[Chicagoland Chef du Jour]

This is outstanding and company worthy. The only substitution I made was to use dried cherries in place of dried cranberries. I would also recommend using a thick chicken breast (adjusting cooking time accordingly), slice to serve (as shown in Just Jan's photo). This is labor intensive but well worth the effort. Thanks a bunch for sharing!

 

[jswinks]

This was a very tasty dish! It's not something I can logistically make often - it just takes too long with 2 small kids (I was in the kitchen about 1 1/4 hours total). But it was delish! <br/>I used fresh cranberries and added a bit of sugar to the sauce since they aren't as sweet as dried. I used turkey bacon which I would not do again - no fat left do do the cooking with, so lost some of the flavor. I can imagine it would have been better with real bacon. I would also pound out my chicken breasts next time, as they took too long to cook through. Also, my husband didn't appreciate the massive amount of pans and dishes this produced for him to wash, but he thought it was worth it :)