 EXECUTIVE KITCHEN MANAGER ALAN BERRY |
“That is a dish I fought for two years to put on the menu,” he said. “Every time the menu cycle would come up, they were like, ‘No, no. Use it for your specials’ which happens a lot. It finally got on the menu and it has become one of our most popular items.”
Barry, who supervises the kitchen managers at the company’s 14 Common Man locations including Merrimack, said he got his inspiration for the apple walnut chicken while eating at a restaurant in Vermont.
“It’s one of those dishes with chicken, which is always popular, crusted with walnuts, baked, and baked off with cheddar cheese,” he said.
When it comes to Barry’s roots in the culinary field, he was exposed to it as a youth, learning from his father, who went from running vegetable and hot dog carts to a 135-seat tablecloth restaurant in Franklin.
“I grew up in it and I liked it,” he said. “I did go to school and I was headed for law school, but I came home one day and said, ‘That’s it. I want to work in a restaurant.’ ”
“After 42 years, it was enough. My dad was reaching the age where he wanted to get out, and Franklin wasn’t doing too good at that time, so that’s when I joined the Common Man Restaurants,” he said.
Since joining the Common Man in 1996, Barry has advanced from his initial role as a line cook, kitchen manager at restaurants in Lincoln, Concord and Meredith, and presently as the executive kitchen manager the last three years.
APPLE WALNUT CHICKEN - Executive kitchen manager Alan Barry
Two 4-oz. chicken breasts
1 oz. chopped walnuts
2 oz. cheddar cheese
2 oz. cider glaze (instructions and ingredients for preparing glaze below)
For the chicken: Crust top side of chicken with chopped walnuts. Top with cheddar cheese and bake at 350 degrees for approximately 12 minutes. Plate on top of a piece of corn bread and drizzle with apple cider glaze.
For the apple cider glaze: 1 cup apple cider
Pinch of cinnamon
1 apple peeled, cored and chopped into 1/2-inch pieces
Cornstarch to thicken
Bring cider to a boil, add cinnamon. Simmer apples until cooked al dente. Thicken slightly with cornstarch. Drizzle over finished dish.
EASY MAKE-AT-HOME CORN BREAD
Package of your favorite corn bread mix. Follow instructions and ingredients on mix and add one egg, 1 tablespoon sugar and 1 cup of creamed corn. Mix well and cook as directed on the package.
