Chicken Breasts with Mushroom Cream Sauce {Healthy}

INGREDIENTS

• 2 5-ounce boneless, skinless chicken breasts, trimmed and tenders removed (see Tip)
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon canola oil
• 1 medium shallot, minced
• 1 cup thinly sliced shiitake mushroom caps
• 2 tablespoons dry vermouth, or dry white wine
• 1/4 cup reduced-sodium chicken broth
• 2 tablespoons heavy cream
• 2 tablespoons minced fresh chives, or scallion greens
  
  

  PREPARATION

  1. Season chicken with pepper and salt on both sides.
  2. Heat oil in a medium skillet over medium heat. Add the chicken and cook, turning once or twice and adjusting the heat to prevent burning, until brown and an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part registers 165°F, 12 to 16 minutes. Transfer to a plate and tent with foil to keep warm.
  3. Add shallot to the pan and cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add mushrooms; cook, stirring occasionally, until tender, about 2 minutes. Pour in vermouth (or wine); simmer until almost evaporated, scraping up any browned bits, about 1 minute. Pour in broth and cook until reduced by half, 1 to 2 minutes. Stir in cream and chives (or scallions); return to a simmer. Return the chicken to the pan, turn to coat with sauce and cook until heated through, about 1 minute.

  TIPS & NOTES

  • Tip: It's difficult to find an individual chicken breast small enough for one portion. Removing the thin strip of meat from the underside of a 5-ounce breast—the “tender”—removes about 1 ounce of meat and yields a perfect 4-ounce portion. Wrap and freeze the tenders and when you have gathered enough, use them in a stir-fry or for oven-baked chicken fingers.

  NUTRITION

  Per serving: 275 calories; 15 g fat ( 5 g sat , 7 g mono ); 84 mg cholesterol; 5 g carbohydrates; 25 g protein;1 g fiber; 373 mg sodium; 370 mg potassium.
  Nutrition Bonus: Selenium (34% daily value).
  Exchanges: 1 vegetable, 3 lean meat, 2 fat

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CHERRY AND MINT GRANITA {WITH ROSE WINE}

Here is the recipe: 



1. Bring water and sugar to a boil. Boil hard for 2 minutes.
2. remove from heat and stir rose, lime zest and juice. Set aside.
3. Place cherries on a blender and add the sugar and lime mixture. Puree until smooth for 1 minute.
4. Pour mixture through a colander, pressing with a spoon to make sure you get all the juice . Discard the solids that remain.
5. Stir in fresh mint and pour the mixture in freezer proof dish. Freeze for an hour, when ice crystals would have formed around the edges. Stir with a fork to distribute crystals evenly. Keep doing this every 30minutes until the mixture is thorough and grainy, about 4 hours.

...and voila, you have fabulous reddish granita to end a nice fete!

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Summer cheese

Care for some cheese and wine? Definitely one of my favorite meals...!! I can have cheese and wine all year long but I love this summery plate with lighter and softer cheeses...leaving the strong cheddar and blue cheeses for Fall and Winter days. BTW you can get the vintage silver fork cheese markers {here}. 

Savourer..!!

On the plate: 
* PARMIGIANO REGGIANO {chisel off a few pieces, drizzle with raw honey}
* CHEVRE // SOFT GOAT’S MILK CHEESE {rolled in finely chopped lemon thyme, chives, pinch of rosemary and ground pepper}
* MANCHEGO // AGED SHEEP’S MILK {with a bit of apricot jam}
* BABY MOZZARELLA // FRESH COW’S MILK {with slow roasted yellow tomatoes, basil and balsamic reduction- keep reading for recipe}
* Marcona Almonds
* Fresh Grapes or Figs
* Crostinis
* Seeded Crackers


Here is the recipe: 

Roasted Cherry Tomatoes

Ingredients
* 1 pint cherry tomatoes, whether red or orange or yellow or a combination, stemmed
* 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
* 1 tablespoon natural cane sugar or maple syrup
* 1/2 teaspoon fine-grain sea salt, plus more to taste

Directions
1. Preheat the oven to 350°F (176°C). Adjust the oven rack to the top third of the oven.
2. Slice the tomatoes in half and place them on a rimmed baking sheet.
3. In a small bowl, whisk together the olive oil, sugar or maple syrup, and a scant 1/2 teaspoon salt. Pour the mixture over the tomatoes and gently toss until well coated. Arrange the tomatoes in a single layer, cut-side up, and roast, without stirring, until the tomatoes shrink a bit and start to caramelize around the edges, 45 to 60 minutes.
4. Nibble the roasted cherry tomatoes straight off the baking sheet. Or, if you aren’t using them immediately, let them cool and then scrape them into a clean glass jar along with any olive oil that was left in the baking dish or sheet. The tomatoes will keep for about 1 week in the refrigerator.

Balsamic Reduction
Simmer balsamic vinegar until it reduces to 1/3 of its original volume. It will thicken even more as it cools. I suggest transferring it to some sort of glass vessel before it cools, as it is quite sticky.

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