No Pig, No Fish

Had some friends over for dinner the other night and had my first pork allergy guest as well as a request for no fish. So I decided to go with chicken but wanted to elevate the usually bland protein. Think it turned out really well ( and so did they!).

Cocoa Chile grilled Chicken Breast w/ sweet onion jam and cilantro walnut pesto

Chicken

4 large Chicken breasts

Olive oil for sauté

Spice Rub

1/2 Tbspn Cocoa powder

1/2 Tbspn Paprika

1/4 Tbspn Chili Powder

1/8 Tbspn Garlic Powder

Salt and pepper

Season the chicken with the spice rub and sear in a pan once you get the desired color set aside and finish in oven at 350 degrees.

Pesto

1 bunch of fresh cilantro

1 cup walnuts

Parmesan cheese

4 cloves garlic

1/2 lemon (juice)

1/2 cup Olive oil

salt to taste

Combine all ingredients minus the oil and salt in a food processor, add oil slowly to emulsify. Add salt to taste.

Onion Jam

2 Texas Sweet onions (1 if it's a large one), halved and sliced

2 Tbspn Sherry Vinegar

2 Tbspn Butter

Melt the butter in a pan then add the onion slices. cook until translucent then add the sherry vinegar and allow the liquid to cook down with the onions.

I made a cheddar chipotle polenta as a starch.