Chicken Breasts in a Date, Caper, and Mascarpone Sauce with Couscous

This delicious and easy dish, with Mediterranean - Middle Eastern flavors, was created by "the Wicked Chef," a California native who was living in Myanmar (Burma) when he posted the recipe on allrecipes.com (http://allrecipes.com/recipe/chicken-breasts-in-a-date-caper-and-mascarpone-sauce-with-couscous/detail.aspx). It serves two and takes about an hour total to prepare and cook.

Instead of following the couscous directions below, I followed those on the can of Marrakesh Moroccan-style couscous I used.

I also used a grill pan on our gas stove rather than our outdoor grill to cook the chicken.

Ingredients:

1 skinless, boneless chicken breast half

1/2 cup couscous

1/2 cup water

1 tablespoon unsalted butter

1 pinch salt

1 tablespoon salted butter

1/4 cup capers, drained

3 dates, pitted and chopped

1/4 cup mascarpone cheese

1/4 cup heavy cream

salt & ground black pepper to taste (optional)

1 additional date pitted and chopped

1/4 cucumber, diced

1/2 tomato, diced

1 teaspoon lemon juice (optional)

Directions:

1.	Preheat an outdoor grill for medium heat, and lightly oil the grate.
2.	Grill the chicken breast until the meat is no longer pink inside and shows well-defined grill marks, 5 to 8 minutes per side. Cut the chicken breast in half, and set aside.
3.	Bring the water, unsalted butter, and a pinch of salt to a boil in a saucepan over high heat. Remove from the heat, and stir in the couscous. Cover and let stand for 10 minutes, then fluff with a fork.
4.	Melt the salted butter in a skillet over medium heat, and gently stir in the capers and 3 dates. Stir a few times to heat the capers and dates, then stir in the mascarpone cheese and cream, stirring until the cheese and cream have melted together. Allow the mixture to simmer for about 3 minutes to reduce slightly, then season to taste with salt and pepper.
5.	Place the couscous on a serving platter, and sprinkle with a chopped date. Arrange the 2 pieces of chicken breast onto the couscous, and cover with the mascarpone sauce. Sprinkle the dish with diced cucumber and tomato, and drizzle lemon juice over the top to serve