Chicken with Apple, Onion and Cider Sauce

Ingredients

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (about 2 pounds)
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
All-purpose flour, for dredging
2-3 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 large red onion, cut into large pieces
1 sweet cooking apple, cored and cut into large pieces
3 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
1 1/2 cups low-sodium chicken broth
2 tablespoons cold unsalted butter
1 handful fresh parsley, roughly chopped

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Season the chicken breasts with salt and pepper and dredge in the flour, shaking off the excess. Add 2 tablespoons oil to the pan. Place the chicken in the skillet smooth-side down and cook until golden, about 5 minutes per side. Transfer to a baking dish and bake until cooked through, about 8 minutes.

Meanwhile, add the onion and apple to the skillet, along with 1 tablespoon oil, if the pan is dry, and increase the heat to high. Cook, tossing, until the onion has wilted slightly and the apple is golden brown, about 2 minutes. Add the vinegar and use a wooden spoon to scrape up the browned bits from the pan. Let the mixture boil until the vinegar becomes syrupy, about 1 minute. Add the chicken broth and return to a boil. Cook until the broth reduces by half. Remove from the heat, season with salt and pepper and whisk in the butter.

Remove the chicken from the oven; add any collected juices to the sauce. Divide the chicken among four plates and spoon the apple, onion and pan sauce over each piece. Sprinkle with the parsley.


Cooked by Stephanie
Recipe provided by: foodnetwork.com


Commentary
Aaron: I actually liked the onion in this.  They were very soft and because they sat in the sauce with the apples they became sweet as well.  The chicken was good, but I think it could have been juicier but I think that was due to the oven.  I really enjoyed this meal and it was pretty healthy!  I give this meal a B

Cristina: I don't eat onions.  I can't handle the texture, something about them does not sit right with me.  That being said, I like onion flavor though, so I actually really liked this dish.  The chicken itself, was really good and from what I hear, the way Stephanie cooked it, was relatively fast and easy, so I'm interested in trying out that method in my future cooking endeavors.  The apples were a little too soft for my liking.  I like my cooked fruits to still retain some firmness but the flavors were really delicious.  This meal would be perfect on a cold day. On a scale of 1-10, I give it a solid 7. 

Stephanie: Way too much onion. I mean, I get it, it's got onion in the title but I think it needed more apples. The chicken was great! I will definitely cook chicken like that in the future. It was pretty, easy, and cooked all the way through! The vinegar was interesting. I just wanted to try this because it was totally outside of what I would usually want to eat. Usually when I slave over something it makes it taste amazing to me, this time, not so much. I'd try it again but probably make some changes to it.