Girls Night Dinner Party

To celebrate the end of the school semester I had my girlfriends over for a dinner party. I wanted to make something fairly straightforward so that I didn't have any unexpected surprises, but I still wanted the dinner to be elegant and have a complex taste. I ended up making Goat Cheese-Stuffed Chicken Breast topped with a Blueberry Compote. I served the Chicken with wild rice, carrots, and broccoli. I paired dinner with Straight UP white wine. Straight Up Wines is located in Niagara-on-the-Lake and is now available in the LCBO. Both their red and white wines have become a favourite of mine!

The goat cheese-stuffed chicken recipe comes from Canadian Living. It was a great recipe with easy to follow instructions. I would reduce the amount of goat cheese used (try 4 oz. instead of 6 oz.) since it is a rich flavour, and too much can be overwhelming. The recipe recommends cutting the chicken open like a book. When I've tried this before the chicken hasn't 're-sealed' properly and the cheese ends up melting out. Probably with some more experience I'll get better, but this time I just cut a slit in one side to make a pocket instead of opening the chicken up. I don't have an indoor grill, so I cooked the chicken in the oven.

Goat Cheese-Stuffed Chicken Breasts
Yields: 4

    Ingredients:

• 4 oz goat cheese
• 2 minced cloves of garlic
• 1 green onion, minced
• 1 tsp dried thyme
• 1/2 tsp dried marjoram
• 1 pinch cayenne pepper
• 4 chicken breasts, boneless, skinless
• 2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
• 1/2 tsp ground cumin
• 1/2 tsp paprika
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp pepper

    

    Directions:

1. In a small bowl, combine goat cheese, garlic, green onion, thyme, marjoram and cayenne until smooth; set aside.
2. Cut a horizontal slit in chicken; cut in half almost but not all the way through. Stuff one-quarter of the cheese mixture into each chicken, pushing it as close to the centre of the breast as possible so it won't ooze out while cooking. Wet edges of opening and press down to seal.
3. In a small bowl, whisk together oil, cumin, paprika, salt and pepper; brush all over chicken.
4. Cook chicken at 350, about 35 minutes.

I had the Blueberry Compote recipe from an episode of the Rachel Ray Show I saw in the summer. She had paired the compote with grilled pork chops, which was delicious, but the flavours also transferred well to this chicken dish. Fresh blueberries aren't in season so I just used 2 cups of frozen blueberries (rinsed and thawed). Otherwise, the recipe comes together quickly and makes the kitchen smell delicious while it's cooking!

Fresh Berry Compote

Yields: 4

    Ingredients:

• 1 small red onion, thinly sliced
• 1 pt. fresh blueberries
• 2 tbsp. sugar
• 1 lemon, juiced
• 3 sprigs thyme
• Salt and pepper
• Extra virgin olive oil

   
    Directions:

1. Heat olive oil over medium-low heat; add the onion and cook until softened, about 5 minutes.
2. Stir in the blueberries, sugar, lemon juice, thyme springs, and 1/2 tsp pepper. Simmer until the blueberries have released their juices and the compote has thickened, about 5 minutes.
3. Discard thyme sprigs and keep the sauce warm until ready to serve.

The wild rice was from the Bulk Barn and cooked according to directions. I'm on the lookout for a pilaff recipe to try another time. To jazz up the carrots I mixed them with some honey and parsley after cooking. The broccoli was steamed and then mixed with some melted cheddar cheese.