Apricot Balsamic Chicken

I hope you all had a wonderful Father's Day! We did, although we had neither of our dads to celebrate with us. We did, however, have a wonderful summer dinner in their honor, and I'm sure both of them would have been happy to eat it. I would send the leftovers, but that would be gross. 

Apricot Balsamic Chicken - a make shift recipe filled with things I like. My favorite type of recipe. Also my least favorite type of recipe for blogging purposes, because once I get cooking it makes it very difficult for me to remember measurements, quantities, all the ingredients, etc. I don't know how people with cookbooks do it sometimes - they must make things over and over until they get it just right. Well not me,  I don't have time for that. I have a job. But this chicken was darn good so estimates will have to do.

Recipe

• 2-3 lb bone-in chicken breasts and drumsticks, skin removed
• 2 tablespoons olive oil and/or butter
• 1 sweet onion, chopped
• 3/4 cup balsamic vinegar
• 1 jar apricot preserves (it looked like a cup or so)
• 2 heaping tablespoons brown sugar
• Several dashes Worcestershire
• 3-4 sprigs fresh Thyme
• Chicken broth - about 1-2 cup

Start by preheating the oven to 300 degrees. You will need to brown the outsides of the chicken, so you can either do this in the dutch oven you will be using, or on a hot grill. I opted for the grill, because it's summer and it seemed like the right thing to do.  Heat either the grill or your burner to high (if grilling drizzle the chicken with olive oil, if using the stove heat plenty of olive oil in the pot),  and brown on each side - about 5 minutes. Transfer the chicken to a plate, and sprinkle with S&P. 

In the dutch oven, melt about a tablespoon of butter or olive oil. Add in the diced onion and cook for about 5-10 minutes. Pour in the balsamic, and let it reduce a little.  Add in the apricot preserves and then the brown sugar, because clearly there is not enough sugar in the preserves alone. Sprinkle in plenty of Worcestershire, and then throw in the Thyme. Mix well.  Place the chicken back in the pot, and mix around to coat. Pour in chicken broth until the chicken is nearly covered. Coat everything evenly. Place the chicken in the oven, and cook for 2 hours.  Remove the pot from the oven, and transfer the chicken to a plate; let rest for a few minutes before serving. Bring the sauce to a boil to let it thicken up - you can add a little corn starch (mixed with water) to help this process along. Brush the chicken with more sauce, then serve. If you are serving this for a dinner party, you will want to strain out the herbs. If you are serving this to your husband, who cares. This is verrrry delicious melt-in-your-mouth chicken.