Baked Chicken With Tarragon, Mustard and Pear

I got this from the newspaper and tried it. i thought it was the best chicken i have had in a long time. it was very tender. now i don't know if this is because i cooked it with pear or because i beat the crapola out of it with a rolling pin...

2 chicken breast halves (boneless and skinless, of course. i don't like being reminded of where my food comes from. though i would like a badge made out of this...)

2 med Anjou pears
2 T unsalted butter
1/2 - 3/4 t cayenne pepper (i actually liked it better without, and i like spicy things)
1 t dried tarragon
2 t balsamic vinegar
1 1/2 T Dijon-style mustard
salt
pepper

preheat oven to 375 degrees

place chicken in plastic wrap and pound to an even thickness of 1/2-3/4 inch.
peel, core, and slice the pears
melt butter in lg ovenproof skillet over med. heat
add cayenne pepper to taste, tarragon, balsamic vinegar, mustard, salt and pepper to taste
add chicken and quickly turn over so both sides are well coated.
remove from heat and arrange the pear slices around chicken
transfer to the oven and bake for about 15 min or just until chicken is cooked through.
serve hot

i like to serve it with cous cous.

doug liked the chicken, but really didn't like the pears. so they were all mine, baby. mallory and isaac loved the cous cous. it was all over the kitchen afterwards.

poor doug didn't have a good week with my cooking, after i made him this, the next day i made greek chicken and potatoes, which, besides the chicken and potatoes, didn't contain one ingredient that doug liked. but he said it tasted better than it smelled-- a compliment or not, i am still trying to figure out... then the day after that i made curry a little hotter than normal...the next day he said that he would make dinner. my evil plan is working...