Weekend Fare: Carrabba's Chicken Bryan

For my birthday this past year, Jeremy took me to Carrabba's Italian Grill for supper. I mmmed over my chicken dish and have thought about it several times since that meal. Imagine my delight when I spied a recipe for that very dish while flipping through a cookbook I wouldn't normally peruse (Top Secret Restaurant Recipes 3). I finally got around to making it myself. Still delicious! With chicken, goat cheese and sun-dried tomatoes topped with a basil lemon butter sauce, what's not to love?!

While the recipe includes lots of ingredients and quite a few steps, I was able to pull this all together in around 30 minutes, not bad for a fancyish dish. As I didn't have any heavy cream or fresh basil, I successfully used whole milk and dried basil instead.

If you're staying in to cook a special Valentine's dinner for you and your honey, this recipe would make a perfect addition to the menu served alongside a green salad, some steamed vegetables, and dessert.



CARRABBA'S CHICKEN BRYAN
(from Top Secret Restaurant Recipes 3)
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Basil Lemon Butter Sauce
1/2 c. butter (confession: I only used 1/4 c.)
1 tsp minced garlic
2 tsp lemon juice
1 Tbsp white wine
1/8 tsp salt
1/8 tsp white pepper
1/4 c. heavy cream
6-7 basil leaves, sliced

Chicken
4 boneless, skinless chicken breast fillets
olive oil
salt
pepper
1/2 oz sun-dried tomatoes (1/3 c. when reconstituted and sliced)
4 sliced of goat cheese

If grilling chicken, preheat grill on high. Broiling works fine, as well.

Make the basil lemon butter sauce by melting butter in a small saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the garlic and slowly saute it for 5 minutes. Add the lemon juice, wine, salt, pepper, and cream. Reduce the heat to low. Cook the sauce for 15-20 minutes over low heat until thickened, stirring often.

Use a kitchen mallet to flatten the thick part of the chicken (or you can just cut the breast in half to make to thinner pieces). Rub each chicken breast with oil, then sprinkle each with salt and pepper. Grill or broil chicken for 3-5 minutes per side, until done.

While chicken is cooking, simmer sun-dried tomatoes in small pan of boiling water for 3-4 minutes. Strain, then slice in strips.

Place chicken on the plate, top with a slice of goat cheese and tomatoes. Stir the sliced basil leaves into the sauce and spoon over the chicken. Serves 4.