Traveling Gourmet--Apricot Chicken

This recipe calls for chicken breasts.  I'm using chicken thighs tonight.  They are a little more moist.  Also, I don't have a broiler in my oven, and so I'm going to heat up the baking pan and put the thighs in the heated pan skin side down for the first ten minutes of cooking.  That should help them brown some.  I found that recipe in our local newspaper, The Oregonian, a few years back.  With that in mind, here's the recipe:

Apricot Chicken

4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves -- fat trimmed
Salt and pepper
1/2 cup apricot preserves
1 1/2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon coarse-grain mustard
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1/3 cup sliced almonds, toasted -- (see note)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees (375 degrees for convection oven).

Season chicken breasts with salt and pepper and arrange in a very lightly buttered baking dish. Bake for 10 minutes.

In a small saucepan, cook apricot preserves, soy sauce, mustard and butter (you can prepare this up to a few hours in advance and warm it a little just before adding to chicken).

Pour sauce over chicken and bake for another 10 minutes or so.

Brown chicken under the broiler for a couple of minutes. Sprinkle the almonds over the chicken and serve.

NOTES : To toast nuts, spread on baking sheet and bake in 375-degree oven for 5-8 minutes or until brown.

I brought some potatoes from home, and I'm going to chunk those up and brown them.  I call them "cottage fried potatoes," but I don't think that name is original to me.  I put a little butter and/or olive oil in the pan to keep them from sticking.  Then I fry them until they're fork tender and browned.  I salt them with garlic salt or season salt and add some pepper too, and I usually slice up a little onion and bell pepper (any color is fine) for flavor and appearance.  Just toss it all in the pan together, but you can do the potatoes alone too if you like.  I use red potatoes and leave the skins on.