Chicken with Apples and Parsnips in Sherry Sauce

It seems that the dinner party/catering aspect of cooking has become my specialty. As Eric likes to point out, I have trouble relaxing and letting other people help with things and I often bite of more than I can chew.

Pun intended.

I realize that while the mass amount of food I cook and the situations that are created are probably more entertaining to read about, it isn’t always applicable to YOUR everyday life. So for the benefit of your kitchen table, Eric’s patience and my sanity, I am going to make a conscious effort to make more two and four people friendly dishes.

Wish me luck.

First dish on deck is chicken with apples and parsnips in a sherry sauce. You could make this for two like I did on a Friday night or for four. You could also multiply the recipe if you are an overly ambitious sadist like I am.

You will need…

2 to 4 chicken breasts (the sauce is easily enough for 4 but if you are like me and like extra sauce I might double the sauce ingredients)
3 tablespoons olive oil (2 for chicken and 1 for produce)
1 granny smith apple peeled and chopped
1 parsnip peeled and chopped
1 cup sherry cooking wine
1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme
1 tablespoon butter
Salt and Pepper to taste


When you have chopped all your produce, heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil over medium heat. Add the parsnips to the pan and cook for 2 to 3 minutes.


Add in the apples and thyme and cook until the apples and parsnips are soft. About 3 more minutes.


When the parsnips are soft (they will take longer) remove them from the pan and set them aside.


Heat the remaining olive oil on medium/high heat until the olive oil is hot/smoking. Season the chicken with salt and pepper. Then add the chicken and cook until browned on both sides only flipping it once. It should take about four minutes a side. When it is finished place it on your serving plate.


Over medium/high heat, add the sherry cooking wine and use it to scrape up the brown chicken bits (they have a lot of flavor). When the sherry starts to simmer, add the apples and parsnips back to the pan and reduce the liquid by one third.


After it has reduced, add in the butter and simmer the sauce until the butter has completely melted.



Spoon the sauce and produce over the chicken and serve hot.


There you go! Now you have a dish that takes less than 30 minutes and doesn’t feed an army. See guys, I’m totally versatile.

Love and Beer Floats
Angela