Tuesday, November 27, 2012

Chicken Périgord-Style for #RandomRecipeChallenge


The past couple of weeks I have had so many lovely comments and Facebook messages from folks who keep telling me how organized I am.  And mostly I am.  Really.  But I dropped the ball on this one.  When it came time to make the dish for this month’s Random Recipe, where Dom from Belleau Kitchen challenged us to use our birthday day to choose a cookbook off of our shelves and then let that book open to a random recipe, I ran into a small problem.  Hands up all of you who know where my cookbooks are!  Yep, in the sea freight.  Now what?  As you might have read way back here only two books with recipes come in the suitcase.  So, I grabbed my Good Housekeeping and opened it randomly.  Then I counted forward to the 23rd recipe. And it can’t get any more random than that with only one real cookbook to choose from.  Sorry, Dom!  Hopefully by next month, my cookbooks will be here.


Random Recipes #22 - November


I ended up in Poultry and the 23rd recipe called for boneless chicken breasts with heart-stopping amounts of butter.  And then cream!  This dish was so rich and delicious that I suggest you cook it for anyone you want swooning in your arms.  Let’s just call it love and not a heart attack, okay?

The original recipe called for eight chicken breasts but I cooked only four (well, my pack ended up being three and two little ones) and left all the other ingredients exactly the same, because we like sauce.  Feel free to add the extra breasts if you have more people to feed.

Ingredients
8 oz or 225g mushrooms, cleaned – I used Swiss browns.
1/2 cup or 110g butter
Drizzle olive oil – perhaps a teaspoon
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (about 1.1 pounds or 500g)
1/3 cup or 40g flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
14 oz or 415ml chicken broth or stock
2 tablespoons cream
1 teaspoon minced chives for garnish – optional

Method
Cut the hard ends off of the mushroom stems and then slice them.  Set aside.


Rinse the chicken breasts and then dry them between some paper towels.


Melt three-quarters of the butter in a skillet over medium-high heat, along with a small drizzle of olive oil.  Slide the breasts in and cook until browned on both sides.   They will not be cooked through so don’t be alarmed if they are still pink on the insides.  Remove to a plate.



Add the mushrooms and the rest of the butter to the pan.  Cook until the mushrooms are golden.  Remove mushrooms with a slotted spoon and set them aside in a small bowl.




Turn off the fire and stir the flour and salt into the pan drippings.  Use a whisk, if necessary to make sure there are no lumps.



Gradually stir in chicken broth and cream and then cook over a medium heat, stirring constantly, until mixture is thickened.



Return the chicken and mushrooms to the pan.  Pour in any chicken juices that collected on the plate.



Reduce the heat to low and simmer for 25 minutes, with the lid on.


Serve over rice or noodles. Add the green onions for garnish, if desired.


Enjoy!

15 comments :

  1. Chicken, mushrooms, pasta! The best combination.

    I'm starting a new blog party and I hope you'll join! http://lawstudentscookbook.wordpress.com/2012/11/27/introducing-pantry-party/

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  2. Good old Good Housekeeping. It's made me think which book I'd choose (out of 'ahem' rather a lot) - it could be that one. I grew up reading my Mum's old copy.

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  3. It's a classic, Sally. We received the first one as a gift on our first married Christmas back in 1986. It started traveling in the suitcase in the days before the internet when you needed one basic cookbook before the shipment (and the many others) arrived. And I have just continued the practice for tradition's sake. Good thing in this case! I've since replaced the working copy with a newer one of the same edition in better condition from Ebay. And the original book is resting on its laurels in a safe place. : )

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  4. those mushrooms!... ohhhh those mushrooms... they look absolutely divine!... the whole dish is a whopper and I love it, good old Good Housekeeping eh? And well done for braving it with just the one book... it gives me an idea for a new random recipes too!... thanks so much for entering this month x

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  5. Oh my - that looks so doggone good! It looks like the most comforting dish! I love mushrooms in cream sauce with chicken but - Mr. Picky-eater is allergic! So, I just eat it when I am out but yours looks fantastic!

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  6. I love the Swiss brown ones, Dom, and I am so happy to be able to buy them again. Cairo had only button mushrooms, which are great but I think the Swiss brown have more flavor. As I said in my email, I couldn't NOT take part. I love your Random Recipe Challenges! I've had Good Housekeeping for ages, but, I dare say, there are still thousands of its recipes that I have yet to try. Thank you for organizing this.

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  7. You need to make it next time he is away, Kelli! Or out late. Send him off to a ball game or an action movie. This was good!

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  8. Looks so decadent and delicious! Hope you are reunited with the rest of your books before too long!

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  9. Thanks, Ruth! Me too! We've been told the ship will be in port on the 10th of December so I hope to have my shipment before Christmas. Wouldn't that be a great present?

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  10. Thanks, Christian. It was delicious!

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