Sauteed Chicken Cutlets with Wine Sauce

Spend an additional 5 minutes in front of the stove and you can make a flavorful sauce—technically called a reduction sauce—to pour over the chicken breasts and any rice, potatoes, or pasta you might serve with them. Almost any liquid will do: wine, stock, water, cream, fruit juice Other protein you can use: any cutlets—pork, veal, or turkey.

About 11/2 pounds boneless chicken (breasts, cutlets, tenders, thighs, or legs), pounded to uniform thickness if necessary and blotted dry

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

1 cup all-purpose flour, bread crumbs, preferably fresh, or cornmeal

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

3 tablespoons butter or more olive oil

1/2 cup dry white wine or more stock

1/2 cup chicken or vegetable stock (to make your own, see vegetable stock
) or water

1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley leaves, plus more for garnish

• Heat the oven to 200 F. Put a large skillet over medium-high heat for 2 or 3 minutes. Meanwhile, sprinkle the chicken with salt and pepper and put the flour on a plate or in a shallow bowl.
• Add the oil and 2 tablespoons of the butter (or more oil) to the skillet and swirl it around. When it is hot—a pinch of flour will sizzle—dredge a piece of the chicken in the coating, pressing to coat evenly. Shake it a little so that excess coating falls off. Add the chicken piece to the pan, then move on to the next one. (Don’t be tempted to dredge in advance and add all the pieces at once; the coating will become soggy, and the heat in the pan will drop too quickly.)
• Cook the chicken, regulating the heat if necessary so that there is a constant sizzle but no burning. After 2 minutes, rotate the chicken (do not flip) so that the outside edges are moved toward the center and vice versa. When the pieces are brown, after 3 to 4 minutes, turn them over.
• Cook on the second side until the chicken is firm to the touch, 3 to 4 minutes. (Cut into one with a thinbladed knife; the center should be white or slightly pink.) Since they will sit in the oven for 5 minutes, marginal undercooking is preferable to marginal overcooking. Transfer the chicken to a platter and put it in the oven.
• With the heat still on medium-high, add the wine to the skillet. Let it bubble away, stirring and scraping the bottom of the pan, until it is reduced by about half, about 2 minutes. Add the stock and cook, stirring, until the mixture is slightly thickened and a bit syrupy, another 2 or 3 minutes. (If you want just a little bit of sauce, cook longer; if you want more, cook a little less.)
• Add the remaining butter (or oil, if you’re not using butter) and swirl the pan around until the butter melts (if you’re using olive oil, stir vigorously with the back of a spoon). Add any juices that have accumulated around the cooked chicken, along with the 1/4 cup parsley. Stir, taste, and adjust the seasoning. Spoon the sauce over the chicken, garnish with parsley, and serve.

MAKES: 4 servings

TIME: 25 minutes