Braving the crowds to pick up some potatoes and dill...

It's hard to remember just how much stuff we ended up doing this past week or so - it all seems to blur together when I try to think back after getting all the treats baked and sent out. I still can't believe just how much stuff we ended up making! Though, Jeff is a little sad as yesterday we ran out of anything we had leftover! I reminded him that just means it clears the way to make new goodies again!

I don't know what we were thinking, but we still did our weekly trip to the market this morning - what a zoo! Thankfully we were out early enough that we missed most of the rush. I just know that there is no way I am going to go out on Monday if we needed anything, so it's just as well we did it today. While we were out, we picked up some fresh dill and potatoes so we could make tonight's Apricot Poppy Chicken with Dill Potatoes dish for dinner.

While some halved small potatoes are boiling away in salted water, chunks of chicken are added to a heated skillet to brown all over. Shallots are added and when softened, a dose of apple cider vinegar is tossed in. Chicken broth, sweet apricot preserves, honey and poppy seeds are stirred in and the mixture bubbles away until the chicken has cooked through and the potatoes are ready. Right before serving, the generous sauce is given a glossy shine by adding a knob of butter. The potatoes, which are tender, yet still hold their shape well, are drained and tossed with a couple pats of butter for richness and seasoned with salt and fresh ground black pepper. Since dill loses a good amount of flavor when it is heated, the fresh herb is one of the last ingredients to be added to the potatoes.

The chicken, dotted with those crunchy purple seeds, was pretty sweet from the preserves and honey, but the vinegar and other savory ingredients made sure it didn't feel like you were eating candy. We liked that this was pretty much a complete meal as is, but if you don't feel like potatoes if you make this, there was plenty of sauce to go around where you could probably serve this over some fragrant brown basmati or jasmine rice instead.

Recipes
Apricot Poppy Chicken with Dill Potatoes