Chicken with Goat Cheese and Caramelized Onion Sherry Sauce

To make things easier on myself, I recently bought a huge economy-sized pack of boneless skinless chicken breasts at Costco, one of my favorite places in the world.  I discovered if I pounded the chicken into cutlets before freezing they would not only be much easier to store, they would thaw MUCH quicker and evenly.  Turns out I was correct! This is one of the recipes I made up the other night to put my frozen cutlets to use.  It's now going to be a staple in my kitchen for a go-to meal. Here are a few more chicken cutlet recipes if you want to try my pounding and freezing method:

Classic Chicken Piccata
Chicken Marsala
Chicken Diane

Ingredients:


-2 boneless skinless chicken breasts
-1/4 cup flour (optional)
-2 Tbsp butter - divided
-2 Tbsp vegetable oil - divided
-1 large sweet yellow onion, such as Vidalia
-salt and pepper to taste
-2-3 Tbsp goat cheese (i love the garlic and herb flavor)
-1/4 cup sherry + 1 Tbsp
-1 Tbsp dried thyme




First, thinly slice the sweet onion.  Heat a skillet over medium-high heat and add 1 Tbsp butter and 1 Tbsp olive oil.  Patiently caramelize the onions.  For step-by-step instructions on how to caramelize onions see this post here. Once the onions are done, add 1 Tbsp of sherry (or brandy!) and cook for another 2 minutes until most the liquid is dissolved into the onions. Remove the onions from the pan and place in a bowl to use later.

 

Next, pound the chicken between two pieces of saran wrap with a mallet or rolling pin until about 1/2 inch thick. Salt and pepper both sides to taste.

I didn't dredge my chicken in flour in the pictures below, but I recommend doing it if you have the time (it only takes 30 seconds).  It helps the chicken brown evenly and keep the moisture in the chicken.  Using the same skillet for the onions, add 1 Tbsp butter and 1 Tbsp vegetable oil and melt over medium high heat.

Add the chicken and brown for about 4-5 minutes per side. If you have a splatter screen it will help prevent an oily mess all over your stove.

Remove the chicken and place on a clean plate.  Cover with foil to keep warm.  Turn the stove down to medium and add 1/4 cup of sherry to the pan.  Scrape the bottom with a spatula to remove any brownings from the chicken. Add the onions back to the pan and 1 Tbsp thyme. Simmer the sauce for 2-3 minutes until the liquid has reduced by half. 

Using about 1-2 Tbsp per chicken breast, place a few dollops of the goat cheese on each. Next, spoon the warm onion and sherry sauce over the chicken breasts.  The warm sauce will start to soften and melt the goat cheese to create a wonderful, velvety texture.  Garnish with a little fresh thyme and serve!  I enjoyed this entree with the Pearl Couscous with Roasted Tomatoes and Thyme... I was in a "thymey mood" :)