The Lush Chef

Libations used: 1 cup red wine 
Libations left over: Pretty much the whole bottle, so serve with dinner...
I'm trying to take advantage of fig season for as along as possible, so when I scooped a basket up, I went searching through my recipe archives for something simple for dinner.  I had a friend spending the night, but wasn't going to have much time to be slaving over the stove.  Plus, I wanted to use more of that time to be chatting and catching up with her!  This recipe for Chicken with Figs, Honey & Wine from Food52 involves very little prep and cook time, with just a few delicious ingredients.  You really can't go wrong with figs, honey and red wine, right?  I served this dish with just a very simple salad because of the richness of the sauce.

Chicken with Figs, Honey & Wine - serves 2
Ingredients:

• 4 Tbs extra virgin olive oil
• 4 pinches salt
• 4 pinches fresh ground black pepper
• 2 chicken breasts, pounded to 1/4 inch thickness
• 10 black mission figs, sliced in half
• 1 cup red wine (I used a Shiraz Cabernet)
• 2 tsps honey

- Heat 1 Tbs of the olive oil in a non-stick sauté pan over medium-high heat.
- Sprinkle both sides of the chicken with a pinch of salt and pepper.
- Sauté the chicken in the pan for 4-5 minutes on each side, until cooked through with a nice golden coloring.
- Set the chicken on a plate to rest and sauté the next chicken breast.
- In the same pan, heat the remaining 2 Tbs of olive oil over medium heat.
- Place the figs in the pan, cut side down.
- Sauté for 3-4 minutes, turning the figs occasionally, until they're slightly golden.
- Add the red wine, the honey and a couple pinches of salt and pepper.
- Quickly cook for 2-3 minutes until the red wine reduces into a loose syrup.
- Spoon the figs and red wine reduction over the chicken and serve immediately.