Chicken Breasts in Wine Cream Sauce
Instructions:
- This easy cream sauce would be welcome alongside steamed asparagus and buttered noodles. Makes 4 servings (can be doubled)
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
- Four 10- to 12-ounce bone-in skin-on chicken breasts
- 1â„2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1 small onion, chopped
- 4 ounces white button mushrooms, cleaned and thinly sliced
- 2 tablespoons brandy
- 11â„2 tablespoons all-purpose fl our
- 11â„2 cups dry white wine
- 6 tablespoons heavy cream
- 1â„2 teaspoon salt
- 1â„2 teaspoon grated nutmeg
- Position the rack in the center of the oven (or nearest the center so that your Dutch oven will fi t) and preheat the oven to 325°F.
- Heat a small, oven-safe Dutch oven or casserole over medium heat. Add the olive oil, then melt the butter. Season the chicken breasts with the pepper, then add to the pot skin side down just as the butter’s foaming abates.
- Cook until browned, shaking the pot a few times so they don’t stick, about 3 minutes. Turn and cook until browned on the other side, about 2 minutes. Transfer to a large plate.
- Add the onion; cook, stirring frequently, until translucent, about 3 minutes. Add the mushrooms; cook, stirring occasionally, until they begin to give off their liquid, about 2 minutes.
- Pour in the brandy. Should the sauce fl ame, cover the pot and set it aside off the heat for 20 seconds. Stir well, raise the heat to mediumhigh, and cook until the liquid has reduced to a thin glaze, about 2 minutes.
- Sprinkle the fl our over the mushroom mixture and cook undisturbed for 15 seconds. Stir well and cook for 10 seconds (do not let the fl our brown).
- Slowly pour in the wine, whisking all the while and scraping up any browned bits on the pot’s bottom. Reduce the heat to low and cook, stirring constantly, until bubbling and thickened, 1 to 2 minutes.
- Pour in the cream, then stir in the salt and nutmeg. Return the chicken and any accumulated juices to the pot. Raise the heat and bring the sauce to a full simmer.
- Cover, place in the oven, and bake until a meat thermometer inserted into the thickest part of a breast registers 165°F (our preference) or 170°F (the USDA recommendation), 30 to 35 minutes, stirring a couple of times. Let stand, covered, at room temperature for 5 minutes before serving.