When Cheap Wine Has A Purpose

Cheap wine really should only ever be used for cooking (and for downing the entire bottle, but thats only if you're in college). My mom and I recently were at Whole Foods (our dojo) and saw a bottle of Cabernet Sauvignon for $2.50. We decided to buy a bottle and use it for our cooking this week. This recipe that I'm about to share with you was a creation simply from foods that were already in my house (including our affordable wine). Recipes that involve wine always appear more expensive and time consuming than they really are, so they're really great for when you're entertaining people.
Here's my own little creation with cheap wine as the inspiration!

Chicken with Red Wine and Grapes
serves 4
2 large chicken breasts, butterflied* and pounded
1/2 bottle of Cabernet Sauvignon
2 teaspoons fresh thyme
4 small sprigs of grapes
1/4 cup chicken broth
1/2 cup hazelnut meal or regular whole wheat all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt, plus a pinch
1/2 teaspoon pepper

*Butterflied is when the chicken breast is cut in half so that it makes two thinner pieces. You can ask the people that work in the meat department to butterfly and pound the chicken pieces out for you so that it's a little less work for you.

Preheat your oven to 300 degrees.
Lay your chicken breasts down and salt and pepper both sides. Add the flour or hazelnut meal to a plate and press your chicken on both sides into the flour.
Get a large pan and heat it to medium high. Add about a tablespoon of butter into the pan and wait for it to melt. Tilt the pan so that you can get the butter to cover the entire pan.
Add your chicken into the pan. Cook each side for about 4-5 minutes or until both sides are light brown.
Once both sides of the chicken have browned, place the chicken on a cookie sheet and cook in the oven for 10-12 minutes.
Add the wine to a new pan and put it over medium high heat. Add the grapes to the wine (if all the grapes don't touch the wine, periodically flip them around). Once the wine starts to boil, turn the heat down to a simmer at medium. Cook until reduced by about 1/4 of the original amount (about 10 minutes). Add the thyme and stir around. Cook for another minute. Add the chicken broth and stir. Turn the heat down to low. Add the chicken to the sauce and cover both sides with sauce. Place the chicken on plates and pour the sauce over it. Add the grapes to each plate and serve!
Serve with a greek salad or some green beans.

The grapes taste like warm water balloons filled with wine and burst in your mouth when you eat them! Because the chicken is baked, it remains moist and tender. The wine sauce is slightly sweet and very impressive.
Definitely try out this recipe next time you have some cheap wine that you want to get rid of!