Leftovers

I’m not a big fan of lots of leftovers.  It gets tiring to eat the same thing day after day.  This was a huge issue when I was single and cooking for one, but I still come up against it from time to time.  Even if I scale a recipe down, sometimes there’s just too much of it. After I’ve eaten a dish for lunch or dinner a couple of time in a week, I just don’t want to make it again anytime soon.  But is it the same if you scale a recipe up just to have leftovers to freeze? I think not.  And Honey Mustard Chicken Breast is why.

Before we left on vacation, HMCB was on the menu.  I knew I would be making this so I had picked up a package of chicken breasts when they were on sale and stuck them in the freezer.  If I had been thinking, what I should have done was open the package and pack the breasts up in two’s and three’s for storage.  Because when I thawed the chicken and had everything ready to go, I realized that I had nearly twice as many breasts as I needed for the recipe.

Since there was no way we could get through all that chicken before our trip, I decided that the solution was to make an almost double batch of HMCB and put half of it in the freezer.  That way, when we got back from our trip, we had one meal ready to go.  Really, who wants to have to think about what to make for dinner when you’ve just spent a day getting through airport security and customs and baggage claim and you smell like an airplane?  Thanks to HMCB, I didn’t have to.

Even if you don’t have a trip planned, HMCB is a great make ahead recipe.  Once the chicken cools completely, wrap it up in a layer or two of plastic wrap, cover with aluminum foil and stick it in the freezer.  Don’t even worry about reheating it.  Just let it thaw in the refrigerator and enjoy it cold.  Served warm or cold, the mustard, honey, and wine coat the skin and meat with a tangy sweet glaze.  Using bone in, skin on breasts keeps the meat moist and it’s easy enough to remove them after cooking.  You certainly could use boneless, skinless breasts but you won’t really get the same final dish.

Honey Mustard Chicken Breast

John Bishop and Dennis Green’s Recipe as posted on Washingtonpost.com

• 1/2 cup dry white wine
• 1/4 cup honey
• 1/2 cup grainy mustard (I really like Inglehoffer’s Original Stone Ground Mustard)
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 6 small bone-in, skin-on chicken breast halves (or 1 whole, 3 pound chicken cut up, or 3 large bone-in, skin-on chicken breasts cut in halves crosswise)

Combine the wine and honey in a small saucepan over medium heat.  Bring almost to a boil then whisk in the mustard, oil, and a pinch of pepper until well mixed.  Remove from the heat and let cool completely.

Put chicken in a zip top plastic bag, add the marinade, and refrigerate overnight.

Heat oven to 400 degrees.  Line a sheet pan with parchment paper to keep the chicken from sticking.

Remove chicken from the marinade, discarding marinade, and place on the baking sheet skin side up.  Roast until chicken reaches 175 degrees, 20 minutes to an hour depending on the size of your pieces.

If serving this dish warm, allow to rest 5 minutes.

{Printable Recipe}