Balsamic, Reduced to Perfection!

A long time ago I tried reducing down a bottle of balsamic vinegar, everything was going good, I was about 35 minutes into it, stirring constantly and watching it slowly thicken up, I turned away for a brief minute and when I came back it was at the point of no return, completely caramelized and stuck to my pan plus I was left with a horrible smell of burnt vinegar lingering in my house, that was the last time I did that! Since then I’ve been buying bottled balsamic glaze already reduced and ready for me to use on the spur of the moment. You’ll always find a bottle or two stocked in my pantry.

Recently I was asked if I wanted to do a product review for Mandarano Balsamic Glaze & Sauce, the company produces and bottles entirely out of Modena, Italy using authentic regional grapes along with an award winning 400-year old family recipe, of course I said yes, and I’m so glad I did! The intense thick, rich, sweet yet sour flavor that comes through enhances everything you use it on, and I mean everything! I would highly recommend it!
Check out their website they’re running a promo, with an additional discount at checkout using the letters,PIC


Wonderful on meats of all kinds, vegetables, grilled and roasted (to die for!) I love roasting those mini red, yellow and orange peppers in olive oil and then to finish them off I gently drizzle balsamic glaze all over and toss, add some crumbled goat cheese and it becomes a beautiful side dish, what flavor!

Go easy and taste as you go, you don’t need to use so much. Try it on potatoes, eggs, caprese salads, cheese, fruits, I could go on and on, and because its already in a squeeze bottle its a convenient way to garnish your plates just like the Chefs do!

I like to use my glaze as a finishing sauce as I did in this chicken recipe. I marinated the chicken breasts in a zip lock bag for a couple of hours using an everyday balsamic vinegar that I have, ( I would never use my glaze to marinate) along with olive oil and some crushed garlic.
Grill up your chicken and when its done place fresh mozzarella on top along with basil leaves and either a garden fresh tomato slice, or as I did, a roasted red pepper. Garnish and drizzle with that rich and dreamy balsamic glaze! Perfection in each bite!

Like I mentioned above balsamic glaze enhances fruit, think strawberries, pears and apples etc. If you peeked into my fridge right now you would see 3 containers of grilled stone fruits, apricots, peaches and plums. I grill them ahead of time and use them for all sorts of things, like this quick salad above. Simply toss some greens with your favorite vinaigrette, add crumbled goat cheese, ( check out the one below) toasted walnuts and top it with a grilled peach drizzled with balsamic glaze, so simple but it tastes like a million dollars!

OK, my other new obsession, ( thanks to my friend Mary-Alice) is honey goat cheese, have you tried it? Oh my, it’s out of this world! Where have I been? She got it from Costco and I’ve since bought it there and I recently discovered Trader Joes has it, a different brand but it tastes exactly the same. If you don’t shop at any of those stores check out your local cheesemonger I’m sure they know all about it, but FYI, my Whole Foods didn’t carry it either.

It’s creamy, tangy and slightly sweet with a touch of honey, its the perfect balance, everyone that has tried it falls in love at first bite, if you love goat cheese, you’ll love this!

Have a nice weekend and Buon Appetito!

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Balsamic and Herb Grilled Chicken Breasts with Roasted Red Pepper and Basil Salsa!!

Even though Labor Day is long gone, there’s still plenty of time left for grilling!
The flavors in this dish go so well together, I hope you’ll give it a try before grilling season is over.
Marinating the chicken is the key here, so you’ll want to do it for at least 2 hours.

In a Ziploc bag place 4 chicken breasts, 2 crushed garlic cloves, herbs of your choice, I used rosemary, oregano, and thyme, you can use fresh or dry. 1 tbl. of Dijon mustard, 3 tbl. of olive oil, 1/4 cup of balsamic vinegar, plus some salt and fresh ground pepper.

When done marinating, place on your grill to cook.

While your chicken is marinating grill your red peppers. Peel, seed, then cut them into a dice.
Place in a bowl along with some crushed garlic, lots of fresh basil, red wine vinegar, olive oil, salt and black pepper. Let everything sit together at room temperature.

When your chicken breasts are done grilling, you’ll want to spoon this roasted red pepper salsa on top. You won’t believe how good these flavors taste together! So please, fire up your grill and give this a try!

Buon Appetito Everyone!

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