Bistro Chicken - Secret Recipe Club

Welcome to this month's Secret Recipe Club post, where members make a recipe from an assigned blog, then write a post about it.  For this month's Club I had the pleasure of being assigned Flying on Jess Fuel.

Jess is the wife of a navy pilot, hence the cool blog title.  Jess has many awesome recipes!  Usually I take a quick glance at my assigned blog, carefully bookmark a few potentials, then forget to look at the carefully bookmarked potentials until panic time, a week before Reveal Day (ignore September's post ... that was very not usual). But this simple yet delicious recipe literally stopped me in my tracks.  I  simply had to make it that very night! 

The sauce is exquisite!  Even after theHubby and I enjoyed  bistro chicken twice in one week (and a couple of work lunches), there was still enough sauce left over to freeze for a future meal.  I'm thinking next time the chicken will be replaced with chopped eggplant for a substantial meatless meal.

I prefer black olives to those of the green persuasion.  Even theHubby, who prefers green, ate a good portion of the slices in his share ... after first picking out as many as he could when he thought I wasn't paying attention.

Red wine vinegar was replaced with balsamic vinegar, mostly because I wasn't paying attention and what I thought was red wine vinegar was balsamic vinegar.  Could have been worse ... the Worcestershire sauce was alongside those two.

I omitted chopped celery since I don't care for celery in my tomato-y sauces, planning to sub with a teaspoon of celery seeds instead.  So of course I forgot to add the celery seeds.  Was delicious anyway.

Thank you, Jess!  I look forward to trying your Rosemary Olive Oil Wheat CRACKers soon ... they look awesome as well!


Bistro Chicken
Adapted from Flying on Jess Fuel
Yield: 6 servings

2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
6 boneless and skinless chicken breasts, pounded flat
2 cups chopped onion
4 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 cup loosely packed fresh basil leaves, chopped
1/2 cup loosely packed fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves, chopped (reserve a tablespoon for garnish)
1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
1/2 cup sliced medium to large black olives
1/4 cup capers
1/8 tsp. ground red (cayenne) pepper
2 bay leaves
1 (28-ounce) can diced tomatoes, undrained
1 (12-16 oz.) pkg.  penne or rotini pasta, cooked and drained according to package directions

Heat 2 teaspoons oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add chicken breasts in a single layer; sauté 2 minutes on each side or until lightly browned (will not be cooked through). 

Heat another 1 tablespoon of oil. Add onion; sauté 5 minutes, or until onions are softened. Add garlic; stir for 30 seconds.  Add basil and next 8 ingredients (basil through tomatoes). Bring to a boil.

Return breasts and any accumulated juices to pan. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 20 minutes, or until chicken is cooked through (no pink remains, and juices run clear when pierced with the tip of a knife).

Discard bay leaves. Divide cooked pasta among 6 dinner plates.  Ladle sauce over chicken and pasta.  Garnish with reserved parsley and serve.