I’m lucky enough to have so many wonderful friends. They are so important to me and I treasure them all dearly. My sweet friend, Ethel, is one of the kindest women you will ever meet. She has a big heart, full of gold. Ethel would do anything for any one of her friends. She’s fabulous. Ethel and her daughter recently took a girl’s trip as an end of summer hoorah. They left the guys home and headed up the coast. They went to San Francisco and Ethel stopped at her favorite Olive Oil Shop, The Olive Press in Sonoma, CA. You can shop on-line at The Olive Press at http://www.theolivepress.com. Ethel was so sweet to think of me while she was on her vacation. She bought me a bottle of Jalapeño Olive Oil/Peach Balsamic Vinegar.

This is fabulous! Oh my goodness, what a treat!  Thank you again, Ethel, for this wonderful gift.

I knew I’d want to do something with chicken for this first time using this fantastic olive oil/balsamic vinegar. I bought four skin on, bone in chicken breasts.  I wish this blog had taste buds so you could all taste how wonderful this chicken turned out. Thank goodness I have leftovers, I’m not ready for this dinner to end.

I pulled the skin back on my chicken breasts, poked a few holes in the meat and sprinkled kosher salt, pepper, and chipotle chili pepper seasoning over the chicken. I drizzled a bit of the Jalapeño Olive Oil/Peach Balsamic Vinegar over the seasonings. I then added fresh jalapeños that I had sliced, removing the seeds and membrane. On top of that, I added an amazing goat cheese I found at Trader Joe’s called Honey Jalapeño goat cheese.

I then pulled the skin back over the jalapeños and cheese and drizzled a little more olive oil, kosher salt and pepper over the skin. I placed the chicken in a preheated 425 degree oven for 40 minutes. Depending on the size of your chicken breasts, you may want to keep them in the oven a little longer. The chicken breasts were small, so 40 minutes was the perfect amount of time. I had placed the chicken on a rack on my jelly roll pan.

For a side, I wasn’t exactly sure what I was going to make. Did I want small little potatoes, white rice? Neither were speaking to me, so I made penne pasta with small Kumato tomatoes that I sautéd in the Jalapeño Olive Oil/Peach Balsamic.

Once they started to burst and were about a minute from being done, I added sliced jalapeño and a peach that I diced into small pieces.

I sprinkled a very small amount of kosher salt over the peaches and I let it the peaches and jalapeño sauté together with the tomatoes for a quick minute and then added the cooked pasta to the mix. I stirred everything together before serving.

Once I plated our dinner, I added a bit more of the jalapeño goat cheese to the pasta. Delish! This dinner is probably one of my favorites. I don’t think I’ve ever had such a flavorful chicken. It really satisfied. I thought the dish was both flavorful and colorful. A winner for sure.

Thank you again to my wonderful friend, Ethel, for introducing me to a wonderful olive oil from her favorite store. I am so grateful. XO

Ingredients for Chicken

• 4 bone-in, skin-on chicken breasts

• 1 teaspoon kosher salt

• 1/2 teaspoon pepper

• 1/2 teaspoon chipotle chili pepper seasoning

• 1 jalapeño, sliced (seeds and membrane removed, if you wish)

• 1 ounce Trader Joe’s jalapeño honey goat cheese

Directions

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Place a rack on a jelly roll pan. Lay your chicken breasts on the rack and peel back the skin. Poke a few holes in the meat and sprinkle with the kosher salt, pepper, and chipotle chili pepper seasoning. Drizzle a small amount (about a teaspoon per breast) of the Jalapeño Olive Oil/Peach Balsamic Vinegar over the meat. Sprinkle the sliced jalapeños (from one of the jalapeños – reserve the other for the pasta) on the meat and then add a few teaspoons of the goat cheese to the jalapeños. Pull the skin back over the chicken and sprinkle with a small drizzle of the olive oil and a pinch more kosher salt and pepper. Bake for 40-45 minutes.

Ingredients for Pasta

• 16 ounces penne pasta

• 1/4 cup Jalapeño Olive Oil/Peach Balsamic Vinegar

• 2 16-ounce containers of Kumato Tomatoes

• 1 jalapeño, sliced

• 1 peach, diced

• 1 ounce Trader Joe’s jalapeño goat cheese

• 1 teaspoon kosher salt for pasta water (I always go light on salt, add more if you desire)

• 1 teaspoon salt for tomato mix

• 1/2 teaspoon pepper

Directions

Boil pasta per directions. Sauté tomatoes in a quarter cup Jalapeño Olive Oil/Peach Balsamic Vinegar. Sprinkle tomatoes with kosher salt. When tomatoes have begun to burst and are softened and they are just about a minute from completion, add the sliced jalapeño and diced peach and one pinch of kosher salt. Once the noodles are cooked, add them to the tomatoes, jalapeño and peach and toss. Serve with a few small dollops of jalapeño goat cheese. Enjoy!

Until next time, Kris