CHICKEN BREAST WITH APRICOTS RECIPES

Steps:

• Melt 1 teaspoon butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add chicken to pan; cook 6 minutes, browning on both sides. Remove chicken from pan; keep warm.
• Add remaining 2 teaspoons butter to pan; swirl until butter melts. Add carrot, onion, celery, and dried plums; cook 4 minutes or until vegetables begin to soften, stirring frequently. Stir in thyme and sage; cook 30 seconds. Stir in mustard. Add broth and 3/4 cup water, scraping pan to loosen browned bits; bring to a simmer.
• Return chicken to pan. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer for 35 minutes. Uncover, increase heat to medium-high, and simmer until sauce is reduced by half (about 10 minutes). Stir in salt and pepper. Serve over noodles.
• Wine note: This simple dinner deserves a tasty, affordable wine. Astica Chardonnay 2008 ($6), from Argentina, is made without the use of oak, making it a nice, fruity match for the dried plums in this stew. --Jeffery Lindenmuth

Steps:

• For the chicken and pork: In a mixing bowl, whisk together the olive oil, yogurt, lemon juice, cumin, oregano, salt, Aleppo pepper, black pepper and garlic.
• Place the chicken and pork into 2 separate mixing bowls. Pour half of the marinade over the chicken and the other half over the pork. Marinate, refrigerated, at least 1 hour and up to overnight.
• Set up your grill for indirect heat. If using a charcoal grill, build the coals on one side only. If using a gas grill, heat one side only.
• Remove the chicken and pork from the marinade, allowing excess to drain off. Keeping the chicken and pork on separate skewers, thread 4 pieces of meat onto each skewer towards the top and covering the tip of the skewer.
• Place the skewers on the direct-heat side of the grill to char on all sides, about 2 minutes per side. Then move to the indirect-heat side of the grill, cover with the lid and cook until the chicken and pork are cooked through, about 10 minutes, or until the internal temperature of the chicken reaches 160 degrees F and the pork reaches 145 degrees F. Stack the skewers on a platter.
• For the onions and lemons: Drizzle the onions and lemons with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Place on the direct-heat side of the grill. Cook the lemons until charred, about 3 minutes. Cook the onions until tender, about 3 minutes per side.
• Add the onions and lemons to the platter with the souvlaki. Serve with romaine, pita and tzatziki.