Chicken, Mushrooms and Cream - A Perfect Trifecta
This is not the blog about Julia Child. They have their own book and movie. Not me.
However, I have a deep and abiding love and respect for Julia Child, her books, recipes, television shows, and her general personality. I have learned much from her masterpiece "Mastering the Art of French Cooking" and am grateful for her great accessibility over the years. She made gourmet food understandable for the average American cook.
Chicken, mushrooms and cream belong together. It's a basic fact of life. Oddly, they are all simple, cheap, pedestrian foods. Yet, when combined with a few other supporting ingredients, they are elevated to the stature of greatness. Here's what we had for dinner at Chez Sassy tonight, and it's a repeat of an oft-favorite dinner. Try it, you'll be sold on it's luscious simplicity. My version is an extremely abbreviated of Julia's classic.
Saute of Chicken, Mushrooms and Cream
8-12 ounces of crimini or white button mushrooms
3 tablespoons butter
salt and pepper
8 chicken thighs (skin on, bone in)
olive oil
2 tablespoons minced shallots
1/2 cup dry white wine, or dry white vermouth
1 cup heavy cream
Fresh parsley, chopped
Wash and stem mushrooms, halve or quarter, depending upon size. In a very large skillet, heat butter on medium heat. Add mushrooms and saute until soft and brown, season with salt and pepper. Remove from pan with a slotted spoon and set aside. Add chicken, skin side down, and brown for 3-4 minutes. Turn and brown on other side. Season with salt and pepper. Turn heat down, cover and cook until nearly done, about 30 minutes, turning and basting with pan juices. Remove chicken to a plate. If needed, add a tablespoon of olive oil to the pan. Saute shallots for a minute, do not brown. Add wine and deglaze pan, scraping up all the brown bits, simmering for a few minutes. Add cream to pan, and simmer for a few minutes. Return chicken to pan, skin side up, and add mushrooms. Baste with pan sauce. Continue to simmer for about 10 minutes, basting once more with pan sauce. Adjust seasoning. Transfer to a serving dish, sprinkle with parsley and serve with rice or buttered egg noodles, a green vegetable, or just a simple green salad with vinaigrette dressing.
However, I have a deep and abiding love and respect for Julia Child, her books, recipes, television shows, and her general personality. I have learned much from her masterpiece "Mastering the Art of French Cooking" and am grateful for her great accessibility over the years. She made gourmet food understandable for the average American cook.
Chicken, mushrooms and cream belong together. It's a basic fact of life. Oddly, they are all simple, cheap, pedestrian foods. Yet, when combined with a few other supporting ingredients, they are elevated to the stature of greatness. Here's what we had for dinner at Chez Sassy tonight, and it's a repeat of an oft-favorite dinner. Try it, you'll be sold on it's luscious simplicity. My version is an extremely abbreviated of Julia's classic.
Saute of Chicken, Mushrooms and Cream
8-12 ounces of crimini or white button mushrooms
3 tablespoons butter
salt and pepper
8 chicken thighs (skin on, bone in)
olive oil
2 tablespoons minced shallots
1/2 cup dry white wine, or dry white vermouth
1 cup heavy cream
Fresh parsley, chopped
Wash and stem mushrooms, halve or quarter, depending upon size. In a very large skillet, heat butter on medium heat. Add mushrooms and saute until soft and brown, season with salt and pepper. Remove from pan with a slotted spoon and set aside. Add chicken, skin side down, and brown for 3-4 minutes. Turn and brown on other side. Season with salt and pepper. Turn heat down, cover and cook until nearly done, about 30 minutes, turning and basting with pan juices. Remove chicken to a plate. If needed, add a tablespoon of olive oil to the pan. Saute shallots for a minute, do not brown. Add wine and deglaze pan, scraping up all the brown bits, simmering for a few minutes. Add cream to pan, and simmer for a few minutes. Return chicken to pan, skin side up, and add mushrooms. Baste with pan sauce. Continue to simmer for about 10 minutes, basting once more with pan sauce. Adjust seasoning. Transfer to a serving dish, sprinkle with parsley and serve with rice or buttered egg noodles, a green vegetable, or just a simple green salad with vinaigrette dressing.
Did you say this with an accent while you were typing this out? I can just hear it..."Wash and stem the mushrooms..." Gulp of fine wine...
ReplyDeleteThat was me, not Zoe...
ReplyDeleteYou silly girls. But of course I did :)
ReplyDeleteAaahhhh...one of my all time favorite meals!! This was the first recipe I attempted to re-create the year I moved back from France. It took a few tries, but I finally perfected it and it is much like your recipe! Yummmmy!!
ReplyDelete