Happy New Year! Have you made your resolutions for 2021? No? Me, neither. The truth is, I never make resolutions, or at least I haven’t since I was in college. Too much work to keep track of them… especially if I really wasn’t resolute about seeing them though. Like when I resolved to lose weight. We all know how that went.
Maybe, instead of resolutions, we should make wishes. Sometimes, they can be similar (see: “weight loss” above). While wishes can be broader and beyond our personal scope, they are perhaps in our collective control. We can wish for a world in which Black lives matter, and skin color never does. We can wish for a world of international cultural appreciation. We can wish for clean air, land, rivers, and oceans. And for a world where love is love.
But even with all our wishes, we need resolve to make these things happen. Unlike the fly-by-night resolutions we flippantly make on New Year’s Eve, it takes work to make wishes happen. Serious, loving, caring, determined, and hope-filled work. Let’s wish — and work — these things into our lives, and onto our planet. Now is the time.
For an international Zoom dinner, one of the guests made a wish for chicken breasts stuffed with herbed goat cheese and vegetable Napoleons on the side. That was a wish I could control. And I did. I created the recipe and we all made the dish. Each presentation looked slightly different. I had a Bois de la Gard Côtes-du-Rhône, which was perfect. You can read about it in the Provence WineZine. Once we settled down to our dinners, the conversation turned to all the things we can do to make out world better. The dinner table seems to be a good place to start making change.
~ David
Stuffed Chicken Breasts with Red Bell Pepper Sauce
Ingredients
- 3 large red bell peppers
- 1 large shallot
- 1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar
- 3 ounces softened goat cheese
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh herbs (see note below)
- 2 chicken breasts, about 6-8 ounces each
- 2 tablespoons flour
- 1 tablespoon piment d’Esplette
- 1 egg
- ½ cup panko, plus extra if needed
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F/180°C. Place bell peppers and shallot on a foil-lined large baking sheet. Roast for 1 hour. Remove from the oven and use foil to wrap up the vegetables for 5-10 minutes. Peel off the outer skin of the peppers (it will not be blackened) cut open the peppers and remove the ribs and seeds. Place flesh into a tall glass or beaker. Peel the shallot and add it to the peppers with the balsamic vinegar; season with salt and pepper. Using an immersion blender, purée until very smooth. Set sauce aside. (Note: this method of roasting the peppers makes a lighter sauce, which works especially well for this dish.)
- Mix the softened cheese with the herbs. Cut a pocket into each chicken breast, going as close to the three sides as possible. Place about 1½ ounces of herbed goat cheese in each cavity, spreading it evenly. Place flour, piment d’Esplette, plus a good pinch of salt and grinding of pepper on a large plate and mix well. Crack the egg into a shallow bowl and whisk well with a fork. Place the panko crumbs on another large plate. Coat the chicken with flour, then dip in the egg, and finally coat with the breadcrumbs. Place coated breasts on a plate, cover, and refrigerate while vegetable Napoleons are cooking (recipe follows).
- When the Napoleons have been roasting for 15 minutes, heat a skillet over medium-high heat. Add sufficient butter and olive oil to coat the pan. When very hot, add chicken breasts, skinned side down. Sear for 3-4 minutes until golden brown. Flip, and sear the other side for another 3-4 minutes. Place skillet in the oven next to the napoleons and roast for 6-8 minutes to finish cooking chicken and the napoleons. Serve with red pepper sauce and vegetable napoleons; sprinkle the vegetables with flaked sea salt.
- Serves 2.
- Note: Fresh herbs should be soft herbs: any mix of marjoram, oregano, chives, thyme, basil, tarragon, mint, tender tips of myrtle.
- _______________________
- Vegetable Napoleons
- • 2 roma tomatoes
- • 1 japanese eggplant
- • 1 small zucchini
- • 1 small yellow squash
- • extra virgin olive oil
- • balsamic vinegar
- • salt and freshly ground pepper
- • 6 3-inch sprigs rosemary, bottom leaves removed
- • flaked sea salt, such as Maldon, for finishing
- Preheat oven to 350°F/180°C and lightly oil a small baking sheet or line with parchment.
- Using a mandoline, cut 12 slices from each vegetable – about 1/8-inch thick. * Place them all in a large bowl and drizzle them liberally with olive oil, and a couple of teaspoons balsamic vinegar. Season well with salt and pepper and toss well to coat. Make 6 stacks of vegetables, each stack having two of each vegetable. I found that the tomato should be placed on top of the eggplant slices (the moisture from the tomato helps cook the eggplant). Skewer each stack with a toothpick to keep the layers from shifting. Place the stacks on the prepared baking sheet and roast for 30 minutes. Once they come out of the oven, remove the toothpicks, replace with the small sprigs of rosemary, and sprinkle with flaked sea salt.
- Makes 12 stacks, serving 4.
- Notes:
- • When shopping for your vegetables, try to pick ones with similar diameters for the best results.
- • Stay tuned for next week’s recipe which includes all the leftover parts of the eggplant, zucchini, summer squash, and tomatoes.
© 2024 Copyright Cocoa & Lavender
Provençal Pairings: Wine with FoodHappy New Year! - Provence WineZine
January 2, 2021 at 7:19 am[…] Another way to make sure your year starts — and continues — well is to choose good food, wine, and (we hope) company each time you sit down to the table. Honestly, that is what has gotten me through 2020, even if the dinner parties were virtual. Like the dinner party that featured herbed chèvre-stuffed chicken breasts with bell pepper sauce and a very nice Château du Bois de la Garde Côtes du Rhône. The recipe for the chicken (and vegetable stacks) can be found on Cocoa & Lavender. […]
Gerlinde
January 2, 2021 at 8:17 amDavid, this looks super delicious and healthy. I agree that New Years resolutions usually don’t work , by March they are mostly forgotten. I hope all you wishes come true.
Cocoa & Lavender
January 2, 2021 at 8:48 amThanks, Gerlinde! Wishing you and yours a good year ahead!
Susan Manfull
January 2, 2021 at 9:03 amThe plans to bring wishes to fruition are often conceived at the table — with good food, wine, and company!
Cocoa & Lavender
January 2, 2021 at 12:14 pmThey are, indeed, Susan! And I will raise my glass to more of that this year!
John / Kitchen Riffs
January 2, 2021 at 10:23 amSome years back I resolved never to make another New Year’s resolution. Only resolution I’ve ever kept. 🙂 This looks great — a healthier, more interesting riff on Chicken Kiev. The sauce looks terrific. Indeed, the whole plate looks terrific! Thanks.
Cocoa & Lavender
January 2, 2021 at 12:16 pmIt is a healthier riff on Kiev, John – hadn’t thought of that. The sauce is really good. The method I use for roasting the peppers brings out a bit more sweetness and a slightly different text than you get from charring them.
Congrats on keeping the most important resolution of your life!
Jeff the Chef
January 2, 2021 at 10:26 amI like the idea of wishes. I also like those beautiful little vegetable Napoleons!
Cocoa & Lavender
January 2, 2021 at 12:17 pmThanks, Jeff – wishes are a good idea, aren’t they?
The hardest part about the little veggie Napoleons? Finding vegetables that are the same size!
Frank
January 2, 2021 at 1:04 pmAn international Zoom dinner… now that’s an interesting idea! Hopefully this coming year they’ll already be a thing of the past, at least as a necessity rather than a choice. That’s my most fervent wish for 2021.
Now I do make resolutions most years and sometimes I actually keep them, although most of last year’s resolutions went out the window—like the one about getting together with friends more often and hosting more dinner parties, for example… but at least I can say that wasn’t due to a lack of will power! But I do like the idea of wishes, it takes the pressure off. Or perhaps a mix of resolutions, the must-do’s, and wishes for those “extra” things that would be nice or are out of our control?
Cocoa & Lavender
January 3, 2021 at 11:42 amI’m definitely up for any kind of zoom dinner with friends. I don’t even mind that I spend most of my day on zoom; when the clock strikes 5:00, and I can be online with friends, I’m good! Mark and I have both found it interesting that many of the zoom dinners we have are with people who we can’t see regularly anyway. We’ve been wondering why we haven’t been doing this all along…
Good luck with your resolutions, Frank! I’ll stick to my wishes and hope that some of them look like resolutions.
Valentina
January 2, 2021 at 2:07 pmThis meal is absolutely beautiful, David. Flavor and presentation! And I love the idea of wishes!!! I’ve never been good at keeping resolutions, so I also stopped making them years ago. Too much disappointment when I wouldn’t follow through. Wishes it will be. Cheers! 🙂 ~Valentina
Cocoa & Lavender
January 3, 2021 at 11:44 amThanks, Valentina! I’ve not made this meal three or four times and love it every time. Not the easiest to photograph… Glad you like my idea of wishes over resolutions. It seems much more hopeful to me…
sonia
January 2, 2021 at 4:08 pmDavid, That’s a wonderful and healthy recipe. I love making resolutions and work hard to achieve at least some of them. Thanks for sharing and wish you a very happy year ahead!
Cocoa & Lavender
January 3, 2021 at 11:45 amThanks Sonia! I guess you can consider it you got a healthy-ish recipe, but I did have to use a little butter to sauté the chicken breasts. 😉 Happy new year to you and yours!
Eha Carr
January 2, 2021 at 4:17 pm‘Tis the third of January Down Under and no resolutions broken as yet ! I make but a few and try very hard and usually make them work even if in a twigged state 🙂 ! Wishes – oh yes . . . and perchance some of yours and mine are the same ! You have presented an absolutely beautiful dish served so appetizingly . . . love your vegetable plating . . . . but my very favourite photo is the simple wreath of herbs surrounding the cheese . . . that said, may the days and weeks and months ahead lead to more sunshine and less care for all of us . . . best . . .
Cocoa & Lavender
January 3, 2021 at 11:47 amThank you so much, Eha! I’m so glad you like the photo of the cheese with the wreath of herbs. It’s probably one of my favorite photos from the past year, and it will never get it’s due. Oh well… I’m glad you like my wishes and the recipe. And you were wise to make only a few resolutions… It’s much easier to keep track of them and make them stick!
2pots2cook
January 3, 2021 at 4:23 amLove what you write about wishes; we wish to have more people around our table too, to make plans like we used to. For us, SHARING is the key word. I wish you have healthy and happy 2021. !
Cocoa & Lavender
January 3, 2021 at 11:48 amThanks, Davorka. I’m hoping this year that I can share many more meals at the table with friends. That would make me happiest of all…
Chef Mimi
January 3, 2021 at 6:12 amWhat a wonderful bit of writing, David. Truly. Love is love. I can only imagine how you’ve had to fight for that in your lifetime, as I fortunately never had. But it’s certainly something I have always wished for, words that the whole world should live by. And now, to the food! Stephan Pyles was the first one I was aware of who stuffed herbed feta in chicken, a Southwestern-inspired thing. I’ve never heard of chicken Kiev. But the rest of what you did is beautiful – that red bell pepper sauce, and those vegetable napoleons!!! Beautiful.
Cocoa & Lavender
January 3, 2021 at 11:51 amThanks, Mimi! Your comment means the world to me. Fighting for what we believe in is truly important. I feel so fortunate to live someplace where I feel safe, welcomed, and loved. I wish that for everyone.
Chicken Kiev is one of the most decadent dishes I’ve ever had in my life. I had it for the first time at the Russian tea room in New York City, and fell in love. Basically, it’s gobs of herbed butter encased in chicken paillards, then fried to crispy perfection. It is a stunning dish, but stunning mostly to your arteries. This version is definitely lighter and more Mediterranean.
bread&salt
January 4, 2021 at 5:22 amLooks fingerlickingly delicious! Plus: Thank you for providing this site, recipes are amazing.
Cocoa & Lavender
January 8, 2021 at 7:07 amThanks so much for stopping by! Glad you like the recipes…
Aarthi
January 4, 2021 at 1:48 pmA very happy and prosperous new year, David! The plate is seriously tempting, felt like having a bite right away! SO comforting and delicious meal , your presentation with vegetable napoleons is fantastic! Thanks for sharing this amazing recipe with us!
Cocoa & Lavender
January 8, 2021 at 7:08 amThanks so much, Aarthi! At this time of the year, comfort is what we crave.
All That I'm Eating
January 5, 2021 at 6:46 amThis is such a wonderful plate of food David and those flavours are right up my street! I know I’d love this. I’m amazed at how well your chicken turned out, I’ve never had much success getting the filling to stay in the chicken when I try!
Cocoa & Lavender
January 8, 2021 at 7:10 amCaroline – The biggest trick to having the filling stay in is to make sure the chicken (already stuffed and breaded) is very cold before you sauté it. I’m glad you like the chicken and the napoleons, and I think you’ll like next week’s recipe a lot, as well.
Raymund
January 5, 2021 at 12:36 pmI agree lets all have a wish but not like the Wonder Woman movie 🙂
So my wish for you is to see more of your wonderful dishes this year! Good health and Happiness. Happy New Year
Cocoa & Lavender
January 8, 2021 at 7:11 amUh-oh… Do I need to see the Wonder Woman movie? Your wish is very kind, Raymund. Thanks. Wishing you all the health and happiness this year, as well. And I, too, look forward to your posts.
Cathy
January 8, 2021 at 3:44 pmI love the idea of making wishes. I don’t make resolutions either, but wishes I can! Great idea.
The international zoom dinner… another great idea!
I wish your meal was in front of me now as it looks amazing.
Cocoa & Lavender
January 11, 2021 at 7:27 amCathy – it was so nice to “almost” meet you on Tasha Powell and Lynn Neuberg’s event for gold leafing cocktails! I saw you were there… just was on my iPad and connecting was hard. Glad you are with me on wishes over resolutions. 🙂
John
January 10, 2021 at 1:20 pmHappy (belated) New Year to you and Mark! I’ve never been one to subscribe to the resolution concept. I’ve never really seen the point, but each to their own.
I may be the only person around that’s yet to experience zoom, but if I ever do, I’d be more interested in the dinner variety. I love what you’ve done here!
Cocoa & Lavender
January 11, 2021 at 7:28 amMore than once, John, I have thought about reaching out to zoom with you two… maybe someday. It would be fun to cook together.
Karen (Back Road Journal)
January 11, 2021 at 6:51 amA really lovely presentation David and I can’t wait to try that red pepper sauce with the roasted peppers. In the past, I’ve always blackened them.
Cocoa & Lavender
January 11, 2021 at 7:29 amI really like this method for the pepper sauce, Karen – it is really just different enough that I find it has its place in my culinary cabinet.
Inger @ Art of Natural Living
January 18, 2021 at 1:21 pmAnother stunner David. And the Vegetable Napoleons are perfect next to the chicken. Inspirational!
Cocoa & Lavender
January 20, 2021 at 8:16 amThanks, Gerlinde. Lucky to have had such fune ingredients to pull together!
Marcelle
February 28, 2021 at 8:13 amWhat a gorgeous, colorful plate, David! The goat cheese and herb stuffed chicken breast combined with that pepper sauce, looks better than anything I’ve ever seen at a restaurant, for sure 😍. I must admit, I do still try with the resolutions! Losing weight is nearly always on the list too. This year has been particularly tough with being at home so much…well like all of us the kitchen is my playground! Our evening walks are so important to help keep a little balance and sanity. I’m late to wish this you all personally, but Happy New Year to you and Mark!! Sending lots of love from Texas!!
Cocoa & Lavender
March 11, 2021 at 2:17 pmI can imagine you four walking the property in the twilight – such a pleasant way to be outside and getting exercise! Thanks for your kind comments on this dish – and I know what you mean about losing weight during the pandemic, especially when the kitchen is our playground!