Venetian Apricot Chicken Completely Rocks

A few weeks ago for dinner we went to The Olive Garden with another couple. We don’t go there very often, mainly because it is a couple of towns away, and because Hubby isn’t over the moon about Italian food. I, on the other hand, really enjoy good Italian food. Unfortunately, the Italian eateries in our area are not much to talk about, so we’re stuck with Olive Garden.

Anyhow, while we were there Hubby ordered the Venetian Apricot Chicken, which really was better than anything I’ve ordered at Olive Garden in the past. Seriously. Good. Stuff. Poor Hubby, he was the only one who ordered it – and he probably got to eat less than half of his own dinner. The rest of us were trying this bit and that bit. I figured after I kept saying things like “Wow, the apricot sauce is yummy.” or “Gosh, could I just have one more taste of the apricot chicken?” “I love these tomatoes with the apricot sauce over them.” “Honey, I need to taste the chicken once more, so I’ll know how to make it.” that I better take some notes on the recipe so that I could actually try to make it. I began jotting notes on the back of a receipt I’d culled from my purse on the flavors, ingredients, and methods they had possibly used when the waiter said “I know there are copies of that recipe online!”. When I came home and checked, sure enough, it is on line! The problem is, the recipe is written for use in a commercial kitchen, which doesn’t always translate well to cooking at home. Forty-seven dirty pots and pans later you might have something close to the dish you tried at a restaurant, but the mess isn’t really worth it.

So, I proceeded to make this dish tonight, and I was pretty apprehensive about the directions. I wrote them out to make sense for me and so that I wouldn’t be at it for 3 hours. I don’t know if I’ve mentioned this . . . but I’m just the tiniest bit slow sometimes. Actually, that’s just a lie. I’m a lot slow at everything.

Here’s what I can tell you about the copycat version of this recipe. It does create a lot of dirty dishes AND it didn’t taste nearly as good as The Olive Garden’s version. So, I’ve tweaked it a little here and there and made it more home kitchen friendly, and hopefully just as tasty. My second attempt was much better. Although, I do have to say after making it twice, I might be doing pots and pan duty for a month. I would say that the directions on this recipe could be very intimidating, but honestly, it looks worse than it is. Also, I would rate this “moderate” in difficulty, not because it’s difficult to make, but because there are lotsa steps.

Venetian Apricot Chicken

1 bunch asparagus
1/2 pound broccoli florets, trimmed
1/2 pound Roma tomatoes, cut into 1-inch pieces (if you don’t have scales, this worked out to be about 3 medium Roma tomatoes)
3 basil leaves, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon Italian seasoning
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil, divided
1 pound boneless,skinless chicken breasts
1 cup chicken stock
1 cup apricot preserves
Salt and pepper, to taste
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
Salt, to taste
Chopped parsley, to garnish

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil.

Wash and snap the ends of the asparagus.

Blanch the asparagus by placing it the boiling water. Let the water return to a boil and cook for three minutes.

Immediately remove the asparagus and place it in a bowl of ice water.

Blanch the broccoli in the same manner, also placing it in the bowl of ice water. Leave the broccoli and asparagus in the cold water and set aside.

Place the tomatoes, basil, garlic powder, black pepper, and Italian seasoning in a bowl and mix gently. Set aside near the asparagus and broccoli.

In a large sauté pan over medium-high heat add 1/2 the olive oil. Add the chicken and cook for 1 minute (do not brown). Turn the chicken over and cook for an additional three minutes. Remove the chicken from the pan and place on a plate, keeping warm.

In the same pan, whisk together chicken stock and apricot preserves to make the apricot sauce. Add a pinch of salt and pepper. Bring this to a boil and reduce heat. Return chicken to the pan with the apricot sauce and let this simmer until the chicken is done (165F degrees internal temperature).

Meanwhile, in a second sauté pan, heat the remaining olive oil over medium-high heat. Drain the broccoli and asparagus and add them to the pan. Sauté the veggies until crisp tender, and heated through. Place the veggies in a serving bowl and sprinkle with 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder and 1/4 teaspoon black pepper. Mix gently.