Fig, Mustard, and Pear Champagne Glazed Chicken

Fig butter, dijon/grain mustard, and pear champagne vinaigrette are mixed together in a 1:1:2 ratio and poured over chicken.  If we're getting technical, 2/3 of the mixture goes over the chicken, then it bakes at 350 for 30 minutes until it's time to flip over, cover with remaining sauce, and bake for another hour and a half.  That's if you're using a whole chicken with all the skin and bones.  Obviously, it'll taste better that way - skin makes it all juicy and delicious.  It also makes it less healthy.  Sure, I could peel away the skin, but then the sauce goes with it and that's no fun.  Instead, I used the boring chicken and comforted myself with the fact that it takes less time to cook.  Like a half hour less.  

Those three ingredients for the sauce seem very specific, but I'm sure you can find substitutes for the vinaigrette and maybe even the fruit butter. I got the recipe from the Trader Joe's website so I knew I would be able to find everything there. If you don't have a Trader Joe's - get creative. The point is to have some sort of fruit, a mustard to cut the sugar, and a vinaigrette to add acidity and make it saucy. Or if you don't have a Trader Joe's just wait a day or two when I'm sure I'll post a recipe that uses all ingredients from a regular grocery store. 

This chicken is nice and sweet so I imagine it would be good paired with something extra savory like garlic mashed potatoes. The sauce is just thick enough to hold onto the chicken but thin enough that you can spoon on as much or as little as you want. It takes about an hour to an hour and fifteen minutes to cook but only about 1.5 minutes are "active" when you're mixing the sauce together. That's a compromise I can live with.