Cherry Balsamic Chicken Thighs

I've never been a big fan of dark poultry meat and until a few months ago purchased exclusively skinless boneless chicken breasts to cook with. I guess you could call it a fear of change. However, a recent foray into bone-in breasts with adobo sauce and chipotle chilies shoved under the skin has opened me up a bit to take more risks.

This summer I have been absolutely obsessed with cherries, but that wasn't always the case. I spent a month one summer during college in Romania working at an infant orphanage for two weeks and then traveling the countryside for two weeks. It was an incredibly intense and emotional experience and not just because of the children. During our travels, we visited a farmer's market and were highly ecstatic at the thought of fresh produce after weeks of nothing but meat and bread and potatoes. We grabbed a bag and stuffed it full of plump red cherries and sat in the sun to enjoy. Half a bag later another girl in our group came walking by and when we offered her some she said she always had to bite them in half, remove the pit, then pop the whole thing in her mouth.

We discovered six squirmy little maggots in that cherry, and after picking through several others discovered they were all infested.

I have a picture of it somewhere but can't find it at the moment to scan in. I found the one above on the 'net but it's pretty close to what we saw. You get the idea. Sick.

Flash-forward to several years later and I am finally ingesting them again, though I closely inspect each one and discard any that aren't perfect or have a weird consistency. I've made up for lost time well, purchasing over a pound at a time and consuming most of them in one sitting. This happens more frequently than my wallet thinks it should, but there just isn't anything as satisfying as cherries. They're such a portable fruit and they don't drip all over you and also YUM.

After watching an episode of Top Chef where they made some kind of Cherry Ginger Cinnamon duck breast, I began scouring for a cherry ginger cinnamon chicken dish. Fun fact: that same episode inspired the Congratulatory Homemade Cinnamon Ginger Ice Cream, which is an absolutely perfect dessert to these Cherry Balsamic Chicken Thighs. I probably could have eaten two or three of these, but I restrained myself.

Cherry Balsamic Chicken Thighs
1/2 cup cherries (original recipe called for dried cherries, I used fresh and think it was much better though slightly less tart)
1 cup boiling water
1 Tbsp. brown sugar
2 tsp. chili powder
1 tsp. ground ginger
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
Salt and pepper to taste
4 boneless skinless chicken thighs (about 1.25 lbs)
2 tsp. canola oil
1 medium onion, thinly sliced
2/3 cup low-fat, low-sodium chicken broth
2 Tbsp. balsamic vinegar
2 tsp. light or reduced-sodium soy sauce
1 tsp. honey
1 Tbsp. water

Preheat oven to 350°F. In a heatproof bowl, pour boiling water over cherries and set aside. Combine the brown sugar, chili powder, ground ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt, and pepper and rub mix on both sides of chicken thighs. Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet and saute chicken for about 4 minutes on each side over medium-high heat. Transfer chicken to a baking sheet and bake uncovered until cooked through, about 15-20 minutes. While that bakes, add onion to the drippings in the pan and sauté for about 4 minutes. Combine the broth, vinegar, soy sauce, and honey. Add to the skillet and cook for 1 minute. Drain the cherries from the water and add to the skillet.

At this point, the recipe I adapted this from called for 2 tsp. cornstarch to be mixed with 1 Tbsp. water and slowly added to the skillet. I try to stay away from cornstarch whenever possible and although I did use it, I don't think it was necessary at all. I would say just add the 1 Tbsp. water and cook for one minute, then turn off the heat and set aside until the chicken is finished.

Once chicken has finished baking, plop one or two thighs on a plate and slather with sauce. This goes really well with a simple green salad, some hot corn on the cob, or for a heavier meal try some fresh corn and mascarpone cheese polenta (recipe coming soon!). Serves 4 unless you ravage more than one thigh by yourself, which is entirely possible.

Bon appetit...just not wheat!