Monday's Recipe: Ah-Pulls

One of my son's new favorite words is apple. He draws it out so that it comes out like a sneeze, but instead of ahchoo, it becomes what you see above. Last week in the Washington Post Food section, they featured in season apples. I have a few good apple recipes in my cookbooks, but this one with chicken sounded particularly good. Enjoy. Oh, and by the way? Let's GO Yankees. It would seem the baseball gods would like Joe Torre to stay manager of the Yankees for a little while longer.

Chicken Scaloppine With Apples in Apple Cider Sauce
The Washington Post, October 3, 2007

This is a wonderfully simple and flavorful fall dish in which everything cooks in the same pan - in about 30 minutes. 4 servings

Ingredients:

• 2 to 3 tablespoons mild olive oil or vegetable oil
• 1/2 cup cornstarch
• 1 1/4 to 1 1/2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breast halves, either thin-cut or pounded into thin cutlets
• Salt
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 3/4 cup apple cider
• 3/4 cup low-sodium chicken broth
• 2 medium crisp apples, such as Granny Smith, Jonathan or Cortland, peeled, cored and cut into 1/4-inch-thick slices
• 1 small onion, thinly sliced (about 1 cup)
• 1 tablespoon unsalted butter

Directions:
Heat 1 tablespoon of the oil in a large saute pan or skillet over medium-high heat.

While the oil is heating, spread the cornstarch out on a large plate. Sprinkle the chicken cutlets with salt and pepper to taste, then coat both sides of the cutlets with the cornstarch, shaking off any excess. Place the chicken in the pan or skillet, being careful not to crowd the pieces. Cook for about 2 minutes, until lightly browned on one side, then turn over and cook for about 2 minutes on the second side. Transfer the browned pieces to a plate. Repeat with the remaining chicken cutlets, adding oil as needed.

Combine the apple cider and chicken broth in a measuring cup. With the pan or skillet over medium-high heat, add the apple and onion slices and about 1/3 cup of the cider-broth mixture. Cook for 2 minutes, stirring and scraping the browned bits off the bottom of the pan or skillet; allow the liquid to evaporate. Add the butter, stirring to combine, then reduce the heat to medium. Cook for about 10 minutes, until the apple and onion slices are tender. Add the remaining cider-broth mixture and return the chicken to the pan or skillet. Make sure all the chicken is coated with some of the cooking liquid and the apples and onions. Cover, leaving the lid slightly ajar; increase the heat to medium-high so the liquid comes to a boil, then reduce the heat to medium-low so the liquid just bubbles at the edges. Cook for 5 minutes; the sauce will thicken slightly and the chicken should be cooked through. Taste and add salt and pepper as needed. To serve, spoon the apple-onion mixture over the cutlets.