The Whitney Houston "I Will Always Love You" Roast Chicken with Caramelized Onions and Fall Fruit Dish

Roast Chicken with Caramelized Onions and Fall Fruit

I swear this dish came out even better than what I thought it would. It's like candy! I'm not kidding. I would take this dish over cheesecake all day long. Well, that might be a l i t t l e extreme but you know what I mean. Like candy.

You know that song "I Will Always Love You" by Whitney Houston?

That is how I feel about this Fall Roasted Chicken recipe.

Dear Roast Chicken Recipe,

I will never not love you, that is how much I love you. You are with me forever, locked in my heart. Plunk. Hear that? I just threw away the key.

You are a permanent part of my life now.

Kind of like the unfortunate tattoo on my ankle.

But in a good way.

Until we meet again (which will probably be sometime next week), I remain

Faithfully Yours Angie

So, this Roast Chicken recipe
is posted in the new October 2011 issue of Midwest Living magazine that I picked up yesterday.

Of course the reason I picked up the magazine is because of the pretty pumpkins on the cover.

I love fall and am a sucker for fall magazine covers. Something about pumpkins and football and crisp evenings can make a girl swoon.

And food. Duh. Of course. I forgot about the food.

All right, all right, it's just the food. Screw the pumpkins.
Unless they're in bread. Or pie. Or cheesecake. Or soup.

Sheeez.

---

So while perusing the Midwest Living magazine at the pharmacy,

I discovered this recipe in the back pages.

---

And then I flipped to the picture in the middle of the magazine to see what the dish actually looked like.


Food. Look yummy. Must make.


So I promptly raced to the grocery store (50 feet away) and purchased the items to make this dish.











I think my dish below turned out just like the magazine's.

---

Well, mine looks a little chunkier but I'm telling ya, chunky is good. You won't regret making this dish.

It's so flavorful with the brown sugared caramelized onions, the sweetness and depth of fall fruit flavors and the savory taste of the rub on the chicken.

---

Here is the link for the recipe in case you want to print it off:
http://www.midwestliving.com/recipe/chicken/roasted-chicken-breasts-with-caramelized-onions-and-fall-fruit/

Or better yet, just go out and buy the magazine because there's also a recipe for Harvest Chipotle Chili and Apple Scones with Spiced Maple Butter in there that sounds and looks DELICIOSO!

Roasted Chicken Breasts with Caramelized Onions and Fall Fruit
From the October 2011 Midwest Living magazine
Oven: 425 degrees F
Prep: 30 minutes
Roast: 30 minutes to 35 minutes

• 4    bone-in chicken breast halves (2 to 2-1/2 pounds)
• 4  teaspoons  chicken or turkey roasting rub
• 2  large  white or red onions, cut into 3/4-inch chunks (2 cups)
• 2  tablespoons  butter
• 2  tablespoons  packed brown sugar
• 1  medium  Granny Smith or tart red apple, peeled, cored and coarsely chopped (1 cup)
• 1  medium  Bosc or Anjou pear, peeled, cored and coarsely chopped (1 cup)
• 1/3  cup  dried cranberries, dried cherries, dried currants, golden raisins, snipped dried apricots or snipped dried figs
• 2  cloves  garlic, minced
• 1-1/2  teaspoons  snipped fresh rosemary or 3/4 teaspoon dried rosemary, crushed
• 1/2  teaspoon  ground black pepper
• 1/4  cup  cranberry juice, apple cranberry juice, pear nectar, apricot nectar or dry white wine
• 2  tablespoons  dry sherry, white balsamic vinegar, dry vermouth or dry white wine
•     Fresh green beans, trimmed and steamed (optional)

Directions 1. Lightly grease a shallow baking pan. Sprinkle the roasting rub onto all of the surfaces of the chicken; rub in with fingers. Place chicken, skin side up, in prepared baking pan. Roast, uncovered, in a 425 degree F oven for 30 to 35 minutes or until chicken is no longer pink (170 degrees F).

2. Meanwhile, in a large skillet, cook onions, covered, in hot butter over medium-low heat about 15 minutes or until onions are tender, stirring occasionally. Uncover; add brown sugar. Cook and stir over medium-high heat about 5 minutes more or until onions are golden. Add apple, pear, cranberries, garlic, rosemary and pepper to skillet. Cook, covered, for 5 minutes, stirring twice. Stir in cranberry juice and dry sherry. Simmer, uncovered, for 2 to 4 minutes or until liquid is reduced by half.

3. To serve, transfer the chicken to a serving platter. Spoon onion mixture over chicken. If you like, serve with steamed green beans. Makes 4 servings.

The prep and cooking
is super EASY and super FLAVORFUL
with this
Roasted Chicken Breasts With Caramelized Onions and Fall Fruit
recipe.
Disclaimer: Persons who are easily manipulated by pictures will become very hungry.
Do not proceed further if your stomach is growling.

Notice how few ingredients there are. Cheap and easy!

This recipe calls for a poultry spice rub but I made my own using Emeril Lagasse's recipe.
Poultry Spice Rub
1 tsp garlic powder
2 tsps salt
1 tsp dried basil
1 tsp oregano
1 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp crushed red pepper
1/2 tsp poultry seasoning
1/8 tsp ground cumin
1/8 tsp black pepper
Mix all ingredients together.

---

Mix up Emeril's spices for the spice rub (which by the way is AWESOME) and sprinkle 4 teaspoons of the rub on all sides of the chicken breasts.
(I probably used twice that.)

---

The recipe calls for 4 chicken breasts, these were small, so I used 6 breasts.

Spray a shallow pan with cooking spray and arrange the breasts in the pan.

---

Now this is the best part,

caramelizing the onions!

Sautee the two chopped onions in 2 tbsp. butter, covered for 15 minutes.

Then add the 2 tablespoons BROWN SUGAR baby!!!!! Oh my gosh, the onions caramelizing with the brown sugar and butter was the best smell ever. It smelled tangy and sweet at the same time. I could not take my nose off the top of the pan. Which sounds very appetizing to you, I'm sure.

---

And this is what the onions look like caramelizing with the BROWN SUGAR and butter! 
Look, Look!
Aren't they gorgeous?

NOW do you see why I could not keep my face out of the onions? HUH? SEE? Told Ya!

Add:
*  1 peeled and chopped anjou pear
*  1  peeled and chopped granny smith apple
* 1 1/2 tsp. chopped fresh rosemary
* 2 cloves chopped garlic
* 1/3 cup dried cranberries
* 1/2 tsp. cracked black pepper
to the caramelized onions.

---

Can you say HEAVEN?
Can you say this really is a Fall feast?
Can you say who needs the chicken really?

Oh my! Is all I have to say.
These fruits and rosemary and pepper looked and smelled amazing while simmering with the onions.

Note to self, don't lay spatula directly on counter and then take a picture.

And if that wasn't enough to elevate my consciousness to a whole new culinary level

Add
2 tablespoons sherry
1/4 cup cranberry  juice
 
into the onion and fruit mixture.

---

Anybody got a spoon? Oh forget it. Ima just gonna eat this, just like this.

Simmer the sherry and cranberry juice in the fruit and onions for 2-4 minutes.

---

I check my chicken temp and it's 160.
It needs to be 170
so I put the chicken back in the oven and turn the oven off.

---

Several minutes later, I take the chicken out and it is a juicy, juicy, juicy 170 degrees.



Did I mention the chicken was juicy?

---

Transfer chicken to a platter and spoon onion mixture over chicken.

Plate up your meal. Serve with brown rice.

See that scowl on the chicken? YUM!

See those caramelized onions and fruit?
Double Yum!




You can not believe how these fall flavors
meld together so well!

This is a fantastic, complete fall meal.

---

I'd love to hear from anyone who tries this recipe or would like to share a similar one!!!

Don'tcha just love Fall!!!

Would love to know what your favorite fall recipes are!

Have A Good Saturday!!!

---