Leftover Champagne? How about a Cream Sauce for Chicken...







 


Happy New Year! I hope you all had a wonderful holiday season with friends and family. Now, back to reality. And, I think you'll like the "reality" that you can make a decadent-tasting dinner with a handful of ingredients and some of that leftover champagne from your holiday festivities. You just need 1 cup of champagne, so you can use what's left of a bottle (no bubbles required for a successful dish), or you can drink the rest with dinner. I've created a tarragon-spiked mushroom cream sauce for pan-seared chicken. I used shiitake mushrooms, but if you're a cremini, porcini or portobello fan, use those instead. You can also use a combination of wild mushrooms - it all works.  
 
Chicken and Wild Mushrooms in Champagne Cream


4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts halves
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon olive or vegetable oil
8 ounces fresh Shiitake mushrooms, stems discarded, caps thinly sliced
2 teaspoons dried tarragon
1 cup champagne or white wine
1/2 cup heavy cream

Season both sides of the chicken with salt and pepper. Dip the chicken in the flour and coat both sides. Shake off excess flour.
Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the chicken and cook 2 to 3 minutes per side, until golden brown. Remove the chicken from the pan and set aside.
Add the mushrooms to the same skillet over medium heat. Cook for 5 minutes, until the mushrooms are tender and releasing liquid. Add the tarragon and cook for 1 minute, until the tarragon is fragrant. Return the chicken to the pan, add the champagne and bring the mixture to a simmer. Reduce the heat to medium-low, partially cover, and simmer for 5 minutes. Add the cream and simmer for 2 minutes, until the chicken is cooked through and the sauce thickens.  

Serves 4






Serge Bertasius, Gualberto107