Mikey liked it!
This recipe for balsamic chicken with blue cheese is gourmet AND easy so naturally I got it from one of my busy mom friends, the fabulous Jessica, who seems to have gotten it from one of her friends who got it from Epicurious — one of our best recipe sources. You can serve it to the family or impress guests with it. I served it to my 7 year old niece and one of my Smart friends who is the most discriminating foodie I know (he accuses me of having a barbarian’s palate,) and they both loved it. Plus I think it’s easy for many personality types.
I love this recipe because you can prep it earlier in the day in 15 minutes. It would take you less time if unlike me, you didn’t obsess over ensuring there was no single piece of gristle or weird things on your chicken. Then when it’s dinnertime, it only takes 10-15 minutes to cook it and it’s delicious. Obviously, this is great for the advance planners in this world (Classics, Organic Structures & Smart Structures). But, if advance planning isn’t your forte (Funs, Organic Freedoms & Smart Freedoms) you could probably do it last minute as well and just BBQ the chicken plain and then use the marinade as a sauce. I’ve done the recipe a few times and some tweaks I added were:
- I made extra marinade, set it aside and heated it as a sauce to drizzle over the final product.
- If you can’t find herbes de Provence, the end result tastes fine without them.
- I did it under the broiler and when cooked through, put the blue cheese on it and melted it while still in the oven.
- I left off the blue cheese for my niece and she still loved it.
Herbed Balsamic Chicken with Blue Cheese
Bon Appétit June 2009 by Jill Silverman Hough
- 6 skinless boneless chicken breast halves (5 to 6 ounces each)
- 1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 teaspoons coarse kosher salt, divided
- 1 1/2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper, divided
- 2 teaspoons herbes de Provence*
- 1 3-to 4-ounce wedge blue cheese, cut into 6 slices
Place chicken in large resealable plastic bag. Whisk vinegar, 3 tablespoons oil, 1 1/2 teaspoons coarse salt, and 1 teaspoon pepper in small bowl. Add to chicken; seal bag. Chill 2 hours, turning bag occasionally.
Prepare barbecue (medium-high heat). Brush grill rack generously with oil. Arrange chicken on grill. Sprinkle with herbes de Provence, 1/2 teaspoon coarse salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. Grill chicken until cooked through, about 6 minutes per side. Transfer to plates; top each with slice of cheese.
* Sold in the spice section of supermarkets and at specialty foods stores.
