Apricot Sauce: Lightly oil a medium sauce pan and sweat out ½ cup onions with the cinnamon stick on medium-low heat for 3-4 minutes. Add allspice, coriander and cumin and sweat an additional 1 minute. Add dried apricots, apricot ale, honey and ½ can chicken stock. Increase heat to medium/medium-high and reduce sauce to about half (approximately 1 hour).

When cooking with beer, it is important not to reduce too much! If you reduce too much, all you’ll get is bitter!

Sautéed Chicken: Heat 4-6 ounces of olive oil in a large pan on medium-high heat. While doing this, salt and pepper both sides of each chicken breast. Place breasts in pan once the oil is to temperature (hot, but not smoking) and immediately reduce heat to low. Try not to move chicken until ready to flip. Turn the chicken after 6 minutes of sautee. Finish it off in a 350 degree oven for about 20 minutes. Chicken is done when juices run clear (no pink or red) and meat is white or opaque, but not pink or red. If using a meat thermometer (recommended) the internal temperature should be 165 degrees.

Spotted Cow Risotto: Combine Spotted Cow and ½ cup chicken stock in a sauce pan and bring to boil. While this is heating, sweat ½ cup onions (medium-low heat) in olive oil in a new, large sauce pan. Once Spotted Cow/chicken stock mixture is at a boil, remove that from heat. Add 2 cups risotto to onions, stir, and then add ½ cup hot stock mixture. Stir the risotto fairly constantly and vigorously to work out starches. As the liquid is absorbed, add ¼ - ½ cup stock mixture and continue stirring. Risotto is done when it is creamy, slightly saucy and al dente. Once there, add butter, cheese and approximately 1 tsp parsley.

To plate: serve the chicken on a bed of the risotto and top with apricot sauce. Garnish with parsley.