Update: Grab some extra chicken stock.

Chef Brian thought he’d kick off the festivities with recipes that celebrate fall flavors.

I’m a fan of Thanksgiving so I was all ears until he informed me that “pumpkin pie” isn’t a flavor.

His first menu features lots of apples paired with rosemary-and-thyme-marinated chicken breast.

It’s not pumpkin pie, but it’ll do:

Meal 1: Grilled herb chicken with quick-braised kale over caramelized apple and sweet potato puree with sweet and sour apple reduction

Meal 2: Grilled herb chicken panini with apple butter, caramelized onions and Gruyere

Meal 3: Grilled herb chicken with sauteed spinach over wild rice and chicken sausage stuffing

Our list is good for two portions of each meal. I doubled mine so I always have leftovers for the next day.

The shopping list is after the jump.

Brian said we’ll need 5 chicken breasts total, 6-8 oz. each. I got bigger chicken breasts, but less of them because they were just under a pound each. I’m just going to portion them out accordingly.

I’ll always post the components of each recipe separately so you can piece together your own meals too.

Chicken marinade (for all 5 chicken breasts, used for all three meals):

1 sprig of rosemary
4 sprigs of thyme
1 shallot
2 cloves garlic
1 T olive oil

Meal 1: Grilled herb chicken with quick-braised kale over caramelized apple and sweet potato puree with sweet and sour apple reduction

Sweet potato puree
1 1/2 t olive oil
1 large sweet potato
3 large fuji or gala apples
3 T honey
3/4 cups apple juice
3/4 cups low-sodium chicken broth
salt and pepper

Quick-braised kale with apple and onion
1 t olive oil
1/2 yellow onion
1 bunch Tuscan kale (also called black kale, green kale will also work, but must cook much longer)
1/2 cup apple juice
1/2 cup low-sodium chicken broth
salt and pepper to taste

Sweet and sour apple reduction
3 cups apple juice
1 cup apple cider vinegar
1/4 cup honey

Two chicken breasts

Meal 2: Grilled herb chicken panini with apple butter, caramelized onions and Gruyere

1 sprig rosemary
1 sprig thyme
1 1/2 t olive oil
1/2 yellow onion
2 oz. Gruyere cheese
Good quality multigrain bread (i.e. La Brea Bakery); I got fresh Picket Lane ciabatta rolls at the farmers market instead out of convenience

Meal 3: Grilled herb chicken with sauteed spinach over wild rice and chicken sausage stuffing

Wild rice stuffing
1/2 cup wild rice
1 cup low-sodium chicken stock
1 t olive oil
1 yellow onion
2 cloves garlic
6 oz. of quality raw Italian chicken or turkey sausage
2 fuji or gala apples
2 t fennel seeds
2 t flat leaf parsley (I always have this handy for eggs, meats, anything really)
1/4 cup roasted unsalted almonds
salt and pepper

Steamed spinach
8 oz. baby spinach
salt and pepper