Cherry Glazed Chicken

 "Music, in even the most terrible situations, must never offend the ear 

but always remain a source of pleasure."

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (born Johannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart; January 27, 1756- December 5, 1791) is among the most significant and enduring popular composers of European classical music. His enormous output includes works that are widely acknowledged as pinnacles of symphonic, chamber, piano, operatic, and choral music. Many of his works are part of the standard concert repertoire and are widely recognized as masterpieces of classical music. And he achieved all this in 35 short years ! 

Fun Facts:

• Mozart was 5 years old when he wrote his first composition
• Mozart wrote over 600 works during his lifetime, including 41 symphonies and 27 piano concertos
• Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart learned to speak 15 different languages
• Mozart composed very quickly and wrote huge amounts of music
• He was extremely extravagant and constantly in debt
• Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart died of of kidney failure December 5, 1791 in Vienna, Austria and was buried in a pauper's grave
• His music lives on and the musical works of Mozart include the following:

The Requiem
Operas include:
Don Giovanni
The Marriage of Figaro
The Magic Flute

Cherry Glazed Chicken

Cook's notes: A real plus for this chicken entree-only one skillet is needed to make this recipe. It's a versatile dish since the cherry glaze can be substituted for cranberry glaze. Just use dried cranberries and cranberry juice. Pork tenderloins can be substituted for chicken breasts. 

Recipe serves 2-3.

Ingredients:

• 4 boneless skinless chicken breasts or tenderloins 
• 1 tsp. each herbes de Provence and dried parsley flakes
• salt and pepper to taste
• 2 TB. olive oil
• 2/3 cup diced sweet onions
• 3/4 cup diced red and yellow sweet peppers
• 3/4 cup dried cherries
• 1 cup low sodium chicken broth
• 3/4 cup cherry juice
• 2 tsp. cornstarch
• 4 tsp. maple syrup
• 1 TB. balsamic vinegar or chocolate balsamic vinegar
• 1/3 cup toasted chopped pecans

Directions:

• Mix both herbs together and rub chicken with seasoning. Salt and pepper.
• Mix chicken broth and cherry juice with cornstarch and set aside.
• In a large non-stick pan heat oil on medium heat. Add peppers, onion and chicken. Cook for 5 minutes on each side, stirring constantly.
• Stir in cherry juice and broth mixture, dried cherries, balsamic vinegar, syrup and bring to boil.
• Reduce heat to low and cook uncovered until chicken reaches 170 degrees using a meat thermometer (about 20 minutes).  You may need to add more chicken broth if sauce gets too thick. 
• Sprinkle toasted pecans on top of meat and serve.  

Bon Appetit!

P.S. Last, but not least, being part of Multicultural Children's Book Day was a wonderful opportunity for me to connect up with organizers, sponsors, co-hosts, bloggers, and others interested in expanding awareness of and promotion of multicultural children’s books. I hope you were able to look at some of the book reviews. It is amazing how many new culturally diverse books are available. This was the second year of this event and it just seems to get bigger with more sponsors and co-hosts supporting the event.