Recipe Advent Calendar - Day 18 - Chicken Bryan from Carrabba's

I'm not really sure where I found this recipe, but going to Carrabba's generally means that either Bob or I - and sometimes both of us - will order either Chicken Bryan or Filet Bryan.  The combination of flavors is so scrumptious!!  It's a grilled chicken breast or filet mignon topped with goat cheese, a beurre blanc sauce and sun dried tomatoes.  That combination just makes my mouth happy!

Carrabba’s Italian Grill Chicken Bryan

(copycat recipe but I don’t know where it came from)

For the Sun-Dried Tomato Sauce:

2 Tbsp butter

1 Tbsp finely chopped garlic

1 Tbsp finely chopped yellow onion

½ cup dry white wine

¼ cup freshly squeezed lemon juice

10 Tbsp. cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces

1 ½ cups finely sliced sun-dried tomatoes

¼ cup chopped fresh basil

½ tsp kosher salt

½ tsp white pepper

Place butter, garlic and onion in a large skillet over medium heat and sauté until garlic and onion are tender and transparent.  Add white wine and lemon juice.  Increase heat to medium high and simmer to reduce by half.

Reduce heat to low.  Add cold butter one piece at a time.  Add sun-dried tomatoes, basil, salt and pepper and stir to blend ingredients.  Set aside.

For the chicken:

6 large chicken breasts

1-2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil

½ tsp salt

½ black pepper

8 oz. goat cheese, softened to room temperature

In a charcoal grill (I’ve also used a stove top, but grilling is best),  reduce charcoal briquettes to white-hot coals. 

Brush chicken breasts with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper.  Grill over hot coals 15-20 minutes or until cooked through.

Divide goat cheese evenly between chicken breasts, placing some on each breast for the last two minutes of cooking.

Place cooked chicken on serving platter or individual plates and spoon Sun Dried Tomato Sauce over the chicken.

Serves 6

From Chef Chad in Houston, TX.

Recipe Advent Calendar - Day 16 - Chicken and Broccoli Casserole

Today is Eric's birthday and we've already covered many of his favorites, like Twice Baked Potatoes and Chimichangas, so I thought I would put in Chicken and Broccoli Casserole.  It used to be one of his favorites, but I don't know anymore.  I still like it, though, and we make it a couple of different ways.  Here's the first one:

Chicken and Broccoli Casserole

1 - 2 lbs. of chicken breast, cut up.
        (The original recipe called for 2 whole chicken breasts to be boiled in water seasoned with garlic salt until tender, about 1 hour.  Skin, bone, and cut into bite-sized pieces.  Now I use boneless chicken breasts that cook in about 15-20 minutes.  You could also use rotisserie chicken just as easily.)
1 large bunch of broccoli, cleaned and cut into spears.
        (Cook in salted water until crisp tender, do not overcook.)
1 cup of grated Cheddar/Jack cheese

Sauce:

1 can Cream of Mushroom Soup
1/4 cup broth from chicken breasts
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1 tsp mustard
3 shakes of Worcestershire sauce

Place broccoli in bottom of 9x13 pan.  Top with chopped chicken.  Top with sauce, covering all of the chicken and broccoli.  Then top with cheese.  Bake at 350 for 25 minutes or until bubbly.

Version 2:
Everything is the same except that you start at the bottom with 2-3 cups of cooked rice.

Version 3:
Mix 3 cups of cooked rice with a small jar of Cheez-Whiz.  Put that in the bottom of the 9x13 pan, then top with everything else.