Papaya Chicken

Sometimes you just have to work with whats in the refrigerator...Sometimes you get lucky and sometimes not so much......

But this time I got pretty lucky.

When we travel south, we stay at a place that is outside of town by about 12 miles so it's not so easy to "run to the store" everytime you need a little ingredient. I was struggling with what to do for dinner with this chicken AGAIN.... and started chastizing myself because here I am, "supposedly" a Pastry Chef and can't even figure out what to do with a damn chicken for dinner tonight!

After beating myself up for being about as creative as a seal I started repeating the montra that my head Chef used to use on us ALL THE TIME! "Make it work!" She had a knack for utilizing and creating things not only on a shoestring budget, but when we got in a pinch and needed something we didn't have, she would show us another way to "make it work." Nothing failed in her kitchen. So...I headed for my mini refrigerator and my mini kitchen and began my mini creation.

PAPAYA CHICKEN







I know, this sort of seemed like a strange combination to me too, at first. But I have this wonderful cooking glaze Im going to use with it...so hang in there with me!


1/2 red onion chopped





1 papaya - seeded, peeled and diced










Saute onions and papaya gently while grating some ginger.






Add about 1/2 tsp. ginger to mixture.

Let this saute a few mins. more till soft.

Transfer to bowl, set aside.

Brown chicken in same skillet: Add

2 Tbs. Olive Oil

salt & pepper

Dash garlic

*When chicken is browned, deglaze with some white wine. (Just enough to scrape up the bits of good stuff from the bottom of pan!)

After that cooks up, now comes the best part!

This is my favorite thing about cooking...

Shopping in little shops "everywhere" and buying specialty culinary sauces to cook with.

I found this in a Sur La Table somewhere on our travels and have been dying to try it...so this was the day!

Tangerine and Fig Balsamic Sauce

I then used about 1/4 cup to pour over chicken and then added the papaya/onion/ginger mixture back into pan and finished cooking everything together.

Now, TYPICALLY I would "plate" this, and make it look really nice, take a picture to show you all my side dishes, including garnish. Just ask anyone who knows me....

But, I had a hungry husband waiting for dinner who was getting tired of my need to stage (for blogging) EVERY meal I cooked or ordered lately....:-) AND, the smell of the ginger, papaya, onions and this Tangerine Balsamic sauce? Well, it really did smell so good we just wanted to EAT IT! So...BON A PETIT!