Apricot Fields Forever...

Okay maybe that's not exactly how the song goes...nor is there actually apricot fields.  I know this because a friend of mine married into a family that owns an apricot FARM, I just couldn't think of a clever title for this post so I went with a stupid one.

Moving on.

I am talking about apricots because due to this friend of mine, who is a new "work friend" (she runs our San Francisco office and does a damn good job of it if you ask me, but no one ever does) has supplied me with some of the farm's delights, the most obvious of which is homemade apricot jam.  Can you say 'mmmmm'?

Well I can, and I did when I used it to make glaze for my Easter ham this year as well as the chicken in the picture here.  Just a couple of healthy lovin' spoonfuls of the stuff with some butter (half a stick), a good scoop of brown sugar and a glunk of Grand Marnier if you have it.  What?  Glunk is a technical term, yes...write it down.  If you don't have GM in the house don't fret, it's just as good without.  Let all of this come to a boil and then reduce the heat so it thickens up.  From there you can bake the chicken or grill it, either way do it at a higher heat so you get a good color on the skin of the chicken.  I used bone in chicken thighs that I rinsed and patted dry and then salt and peppered before pouring the glaze over them.

The smell in your house with this chicken cooking is amazing and will literally make your mouth water.    You can have any wine you like with this dish...white, red, whatever it is you fancy...though I will say because of the apricot you may want to pick up a white with some notes of apricot like an Albarino, a Spanish white easily found in any liquor store or wine shop.

Eat up,
Trish