Cheddar-Crusted Chicken Breasts and Sherried Rice and Barley with Almonds

This was one of the most delicious--and fancy--meals I've made in a long time. Especially the rice/barley mixture--it was SOOO good!! These are both from Cookwise--already a good sign, as everything I've tried from that book is both delicious and oh-so-well explained. As Shirley Corriher describes it, "This awesome centerpiece dish will impress even haute-cuisine friends, but the flavors are hearty and reminiscent of wonderful Sunday dinners of your childhood."

The full name of the first dish is "Cheddar-Crusted Chicken Breasts with Grapes and Apples in Grand Marnier Sauce."

Ingredients:
1 medium onion, quartered
1/2 teaspoon dried sage
1 1/2 cups homemade chicken stock or canned chicken broth
4 cups water
10 skinless and boneless chicken breast halves
2 cans (10.5 oz each) beef consomme
2 tablespoons dark brown sugar
1/2 cup orange marmalade
1/4 cup cornstarch dissolved in 1/4 cup cold water
3 red apples (Rome or McIntosh), cored and cut into wedges
3 tablespoons lightly salted butter
Nonstick cooking spray
1/4 pound cheddar with good orange color, grated (about 1 cup)
1 small bunch of Red Flame grapes, about 30 grapes
3 tablespoons Grand Marnier [I left this out, since there was no chance for the alcohol to cook away, but you could substitute something else for it. Maybe OJ? It was just great without it, though.]

Serve with Sherried Rice and Barley with Almonds

Directions:
1. Bring the onion, sage, stock, and water to a boil in a large saucepan. Add the boneless chicken breasts. Bring back to a simmer, simmer for 2 minutes, cover, and remove from heat. Let stand about 10 minutes. Remove the chicken breasts to a plate and cover to keep warm. (This double stock from cooking the chicken is excellent to cook the rice and barley in.)
2. Heat the consomme, brown sugar, orange marmalade, and cornstarch-water mixture in a large saucepan over medium-high heat until it reaches a slow boil, stirring constantly. Remove the sauce from the heat and set aside.
3. Saute the apples in butter in a heavy skillet over medium heat until just browned, 2 to 3 minutes on each side. Set aside.
4. Spray a baking sheet with nonstick cooking spray. Dry the chicken breasts and place them on the baking sheet. Sprinkle each chicken breast with grated cheddar and slip under the broiler just to melt and brown the cheese.
5. Mound up the hot Sherried Rice and Barley with Almonds in the center of a large platter. Arrange the chicken breasts against the sides of the mound. Reheat the sauce and stir in the grapes, apple wedges, [and Grand Marnier--or leave out or substitute]. Spoon the grapes and apples and a little sauce over the top of the mound, letting the grapes and apples cascade down the side of the mound. Drizzle some sauce over each chicken breast and serve.

(Look how pretty that is...)

Sherried Rice and Barley with Almonds

Ingredients:
2 medium onions, chopped
1 tablespoon canola, corn, peanut, or blended vegetable oil
2 tablespoons sugar
1 cup brown rice*
1 cup barley*
8 dried apple slices, chopped
4 cups water, homemade chicken stock, or canned chicken broth [using the leftover broth from the chicken recipe is delicious!]
2 tablespoons and 1 tablespoon butter (3 tablespoons total)
2 teaspoons and 1/4 teaspoon salt (2 1/4 teaspoons total)
3 tablespoons dry sherry
1 cup roasted almond slivers

*Both brown rice and barley are now available in 10-minute-cooking brands, which makes this a quick dish. If you use those, you can cook the grain and apple mixture for only 10 minutes in Step 1.

Directions:

1. Saute the onions in oil in a heavy pot that has a lid over medium-high heat until soft. Sprinkle with the sugar and continue cooking for 1 minute. Add the rice, barley, apples, water, 2 tablespoons butter, 2 teaspoons salt, and sherry. Stir well and bring to a boil. Cover and cook at a low simmer for 40 minutes.
2. While the rice is cooking, preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Spread the almonds on a baking sheet and roast until lightly browned, about 10 minutes. Stir in 1 tablespoon butter and 1/4 teaspoon salt while the nuts are hot.
3. Heat the rice-barley mixture an additional minute with the lid off and toss gently with a fork. Stir in half of the roasted almond slivers. Sprinkle the remaining half of the almonds over the top to garnish. Serve immediately.