Chicken with 40 Cloves of Garlic

We had friends over for dinner and I wanted to try a new chicken recipe that would feed a lot of people. I saw this recipe in my most recent library cookbook find, "Barefoot in Paris". I knew immediately that I wanted to try it but I didn't have dry wine, cognac or heavy cream so I adapted the recipe using chicken stock and 2% milk. I also used skinless, boneless chicken breast and less oil. I accidentally over salted the sauce so I added a bit more milk to mellow out the seasoning. It turned out really delicious. The garlic mellows in flavor and softens up - they just melt in your mouth. The chicken was tender and juicy while the sauce had terrific flavor. There were a lot of oohs and aahs, which is always nice to hear. The proof that everyone loved the chicken was an empty serving dish.

• 6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, trimmed of any fat and in half
• 1-2 tbsp of olive oil
• Dried thyme to taste
• Sea salt and fresh cracked pepper to taste
• 40 cloves of garlic
• 1 tbsp of butter
• 1 tbsp flour
• 1 2/3 cups of chicken broth
• 2 tbsp 2% milk (I ended up using about 1/4 cup)
• 1 tbsp fresh parsley, chopped

Separate the cloves of garlic and peel.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Place trimmed and halved chicken breast in a large zip lock bag. Pound the chicken breasts flat with a mallet until 1/2 inch thick. Season with sea salt, black pepper and thyme to taste.

Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. In batches, saute the chicken smooth side down first, until nicely browned, about 4 minutes. Flip the breasts and cook for 45 seconds then remove to a baking dish. Once all the chicken has been removed, add the garlic to the pot. Lower the heat and saute for 3-4 minutes, turning often; add the chicken stock, making sure to scrape all the brown goodies off the bottom of the pan. Season with sea salt, pepper and thyme if needed. Pour sauce over the chicken in the baking dish. Cover with a lid or tinfoil and bake for 20 minutes.

Once the chicken has baked, carefully remove the chicken and garlic cloves to a platter and cover with an aluminum foil tent to stay warm. Place the sauce in the large skillet that you cooked the meat in or a saucepan. In a small bowl, whisk together the flour and milk with a little bit of the sauce. Once it's thoroughly mixed, slowly whisk the flour mixture back into the rest of the sauce. Add the butter to the sauce, raise the heat and boil for 3 minutes or until it's nice and thick. Taste and re-season if needed. Pour the sauce over the chicken, garnish with fresh chopped parsley and serve. Enjoy

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Awards:

Just wanted to say thank you to Lynda from Lynda's Recipe Box and Debbie from Mocha Me for passing this award on to me. Be sure to check out their sites for delicious recipes. Thanks ladies!