Orange Bourbon Chicken

This past weekend I had the pleasure of preparing a nice meal for a wedding reception that was held at Iowa Wesleyan. They had some nice hors d'oeuvres to keep their guests busy and then we served dinner when the bride and groom arrived. The hors d'ouevres were simple yet some what elegant . I carved a couple of watermelon swans to make a nice fresh fruit display, and we piped out some garlic flavored cream cheese on a cracker and garnished it with some fine diced tomato and fresh basil. It was really quite tasty. Add a simple fresh vegetable tray with some dip and you have a nice beginning to  give your guests something to do while they wait for the wedding party. The dinner was also very simple but yet a very pretty dish and loaded with flavor. They brought me a recipe and I tried not to deviate from it but I usually find this a very difficult thing to do. How about a list of ingredients to get us started.

Chicken tenders                                                  1 pound
Butter, melted                                                     1/4 cup
Sea salt                                                               1/4 tsp
Black pepper, fresh ground                                  to taste
Garlic powder                                                      1 tsp
OJ concentrate                                                     6 ounce can
Bourbon                                                               1/4 cup
Sliced Almonds, toasted                                        1/4 cup
Fresh parsley, chopped                                          1 Tbsp

First rinse the chicken with cold water and season with the sea salt, black pepper and garlic powder. In a skillet with medium heat melt the butter and add the chicken. Brown the chicken lightly on both sides and then add the OJ concentrate. Reduce the heat and let this simmer for about 10 minutes, remove the chicken and keep it warm on a platter. Allow OJ to thicken a little more and then add the bourbon, now if you want to show off you can flame the booze if you like but stay back if you do because alcohol burns hot. Allow to cook for a few minutes to cook out the booze, check the seasoning and adjust to your liking. To serve family style pour the sauce over the chicken on your platter and garnish with the toasted almonds and fresh parsley. Serve this with some rice and a nice green vegetable and you have a very pretty and pleasing plate. For the wedding we served it with white rice as requested but I would suggest a brown rice or maybe a nice mixed grain pilaf. Either way I'm sure this is one you will enjoy!!!

I love the brick wall background!!!