The heart of the home is the kitchen. My best memories from my childhood were centered on food. Who am I kidding? Food still takes center stage in my life. Even at a fair, food is a big draw. Eventually we have to eat. 

My introduction to Silvia Baldini was at last year’s Country Living Fair where she demonstrated how too cook the perfect frittata.

Silvia Baldini was born and raised in Turin, Italy. Following a distinguished career as an art director on Madison Avenue, she pursued culinary training at ICC in NYC and Cordon Bleu in London. Baldini founded a creative food group,

Strawberry and Sage. She appeared on Food Network shows. After Chef Chris Santos declared her dessert: “The best dessert on this show ever,” she became the first professional woman chef in Connecticut to win Chopped. She was one of 16 chefs competing in the last season of Chopped Champions and has recently competed on Beat Bobby Flay. She is sworn to secrecy on the results.

Baldini has a cooking series on FabFItFun.com with 7 million viewers. She is the lead chef, recipe developer and spoke person for Realeats.com, a healthy meal delivery service. Baldini recently launched an online store called The Secret Ingredient Girls. Baldini say, “At TSGI we believe wellness, beauty and happiness begin with wholesome ingredients.” She mentioned how they sold out of this product line within 2 hours at the Fair.

Baldini adds, “Most importantly I’m the proud mother of two beautiful and always hungry children.” She shares this recipe with us.

Grilled Herbed Chicken Breast with Balsamic Vinegar and Strawberries

The balsamic vinegar adds a rich and unexpected note that highlights and deepens the flavor of both the strawberries and the chicken. Serves 4.

Ingredients

• 4 tablespoons Traditional Balsamic Vinegar
• 1 quart fresh strawberries, hulled and quartered
• 4 6 oz skinless, boneless chicken breast cutlets
• 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh flat parsley leaves
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil
• 1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves
• 3 medium garlic cloves, peeled and smashed
• fine sea salt
• ground black pepper
• 1 medium organic lemon, juiced

Instructions

1. Combine the strawberries and balsamic vinegar. Set aside in a covered container to macerate in the fridge for a minimum of two hours or overnight.
2. In a large bowl combine the chicken breasts with the herbs, garlic, olive oil and juice of lemon. Season with salt and pepper. Mix, cover and set aside in the fridge for a minimum of two hours or overnight.
3. When ready, discard the herbs and garlic. Grill the chicken on hot grill pan or over a BBQ until cooked. Slice the chicken on a diagonal and arrange on a serving platter. Cover with the macerated strawberries and juices from the balsamic marinade. Sprinkle with extra chopped basil. Serve warm or room temperature.

Recipe Notes

Macerate the strawberries with the Traditional Balsamic from our collection at www.thesecretingredientgirls.com This is one of our finest grade Balsamic, it is aged for up to 18 years in chestnut, oak, mulberry, cherry and ash barrels.