Dinner for one?

Wow, there’s an awkward sound to that when dining out. But when you’re at home… sometimes it’s a welcome thought.
It’s kind of a nice change when you can cook for your own tastebuds, whatever they crave at the moment, don’t you think?

I was shopping at Sprouts last night, wandering around for inspiration, and I ended up staring into the organic produce bins. I was searching for something that could be served raw, since it’s still incredibly hot here, and the thought of using an oven is something I don’t care to entertain.

A man reached into the fennel and pulled out a large bulb, and looked at it. After studying it from every possible angle, he moved his glance over to me. “Do you know what this is?”
“Sure, it’s fennel. It’s really good.”  He asked how it can be prepared, and after the fifth or sixth suggestion, I realized I needed to buy one too. The man thanked me, and we both left with our baskets overflowing with airy, anise leaves swaying in the air conditioning.

So, I was making fennel. hmmm. I started to think about what flavors would go well with it, so I picked up a lemon, a log of my favorite honey goat cheese, and some free range organic chicken breasts.

By the time I’d driven home, I had formulated the flavors and began embarking on this week’s blog recipe.  I will say, it kept the kitchen cool, and I really enjoyed it! Hope you do too!

Chicken Medallion with Lemon, Fennel, and Honey Goat Cheese

1 chicken medallion (about 2½” in diameter)* 
2 Tbsp butter
Salt & Pepper to taste
½ Tbsp. lemon olive oil
1 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice
1 Tbsp. white balsamic
2 whole red lettuce leaves
shaved fennel bulb (about a dozen pieces)
honey goat cheese ◊
1 tsp. fresh lemon zest
Cracked pepper to taste 

*I cut the chicken medallion from the large part of the chicken breast, in an approximate 2½” diameter circle. I’ve still got 1½ chicken breasts left for tomorrow – yay 🙂

◊I used a 1½ tsp stainless steel springloaded scoop for these, which is the smaller version of the #40 scoop I used in my Chocolate Embers recipe.

Directions:

Soften butter in pan on low settings.

Sprinkle salt and pepper on chicken. When butter has just about melted, place chicken in pan. Turn heat up to medium and cook for 2½ minutes. Flip meat over, turn heat to medium low and cook for two minutes. Turn heat down to low. Tip edge of pan toward you so the edge of the meat is in the deepest part of the butter. Continually baste with spoon, keeping chicken moist for at least 3-4 minutes. Remove from pan and put on warmed plate. Whisk remaining butter, and add oil and lemon. Turn off heat. Add balsamic, and whisk again. Immediately pour through fine sieve into small bowl. (You’ll be straining out the browned bits) This is your warm dressing.

Plating:

Place leaves down first, with tops away from you. About 1/3 of the way down, top with fennel shavings. Place chicken medallion about 2/3 of the way down .
Scoop 2 balls of honey goat cheese, and place next to the chicken.
Drizzle with 1/2 of the warm dressing.  Garnish with lemon zest.
Finish with cracked black pepper.

Now that you’ve taken a look at this new dish, I’d love to hear your thoughts!

And, for your final giggle, (made with my friend Janelle T. in mind) a nod to the goat cheese…. (or should that be just plain cheesy goats?)