When you’re roasting a chicken breast, skin and bones yield the very best flavor.  It’s also very important to have your split breasts closer to room temperature before throwing in the hot oven.  I drizzled and seasoned these about an hour before they went into the oven creating an optimally tender result.  I’ve cooked them straight out of the fridge lots of times.  Fear not, in a time crunch this won’t wreck your dinner.  You simply won’t have *ideal* results.  I’m led to wonder if this is what went wrong with my bone in ribeye at Wolfgang Puck’s CUT in Las Vegas – surely they couldn’t be aiming for mediocre?

As a photography aside, I am dutifully working through a Publix (grocery store generic) paprika that I picked up this summer in Rosemary Beach, FL.  I kind of hate it.  The flavor is fine but the color is WAY TOO ORANGE!  I’ll probably throw it out soon, but take note if you use a different brand your chicken will have a slightly different color.  As my mother taught me, the purpose of  paprika is for coloring – not for flavor.  So if it’s not serving it’s purpose, I guess I should throw it out.

Roasted Chicken Breasts with Whiskey Portabella Mushroom Pan Sauce

serves 2

2 medium chicken split breasts (out of the fridge an hour before cooking if you can!)

olive oil

kosher salt

fresh ground pepper

paprika

1 and 1/2 tbsp butter

2 large portabella mushroom caps, chopped

pan drippings 2 roast split breasts

1 c. hot water

1/3 c. Makers Mark Bourbon Whiskey

1 tsp corn starch and 2 tbsp water mixed together

Preheat your oven to 425.  Place chicken breasts in a heavy bottomed saute pan.  Drizzle chicken breasts with olive oil, then generously sprinkle with kosher salt, fresh ground pepper, and paprika.  Roast chicken in oven for about 45 minutes to an hour – until they have an internal temperature of 165.  Remove to a cutting board to rest.

Warm a separate saute pan over medium high heat.  Add butter after two minutes to melt, then add chopped portabella mushrooms.  Sprinkle with kosher salt and fresh ground pepper, then brown thoroughly until mushroom water has been released and evaporated.  Set aside.

Spoon off any oil gathered in your pan drippings, then add hot water to pan over medium high heat.  Use a wooden spatula to scrape up the brown bits, cook until volume is reduced by half.  Add whiskey, then cornstarch and water mixture.  Stir continuously with spatula.  Stir until slightly thickened, then add mushrooms, stir and serve immediately.

Yesterday I was migrating my website to a different server to correct the interminable slowness my site has been experiencing.  The first tech support call was great.  The second guy is responsible for the rampant hostility toward computer guys everywhere.  You know like the Nick Burns computer guy skit from Saturday Night Live.  I used to be Nick Burns – well hopefully I was less of a jerkhole, but that was my job.  At the end of the day, the site has been migrated and from my end all the issues seem resolved.  Please let me know if you continue to experience any time outs or slowness, and I’ll try to keep traceroutes, ping tests, and packet loss out of casual conversation.

I really was trying to be reasonable with the chicken tetrazzini.  I planned to make one for dinner and one for the freezer.  Found the recipe, then completely abandoned any potential for taking the easy road.  Cause I’m all from scratch, y’all.  Don’t feel compelled to fall victim to my insanity.  If you do, I recommend this as a Sunday project if you’re a working person or at least as a part of a larger meal plan.

My dear friend, Elizabeth, tried some Oprah meal planning awhile back.  In my memory it involved something like buying two rotisserie chickens, shredding them, then making four meals from the bounty.  I can’t remember much other than I don’t think she was wowed by the results.  My problem is we don’t really eat dark meat, so rotisseries don’t really provide a lot of shredded chicken.  Many things in cooking don’t translate into economies of scale but shredding chicken does.  No need to go all crazy and roast first, then boil the chicken like I did.  I was suffering from existential angst on Monday, forgive me.  I’ve been boiling split breasts for chicken soup for years with wonderful results, the extra roasting is so *not* necessary.  In any case, if you want to shred your own chicken, just get a large pot and do a bunch – like 8 or 10 large split breasts.  Then you can have shredded chicken and broth for Chicken and Goat Cheese Enchiladas or Chicken Stuffed Fried Avocados or Mediterranean Penne  or Chicken Salad or something of your very own creation.

Chicken Tetrazzini Recipe

adapted from Martha Stewart Everday Food April 2007

makes 2 casseroles, each having about 5-6 servings

5 split chicken breasts

kosher salt

fresh ground pepper

1 lb sliced white mushrooms

1/2 c. flour

3 c. 1% milk

3/4 c. dry white wine

3 c. grated Parmesan cheese

1/2 tsp dried thyme leaves

1 lb. linguine

10 oz. frozen petite peas

(Martha uses the shredded meat from a rotisserie chicken, if you go that route you’ll also need 2 c. of chicken broth)

In a large pot, cover split breasts with water, then add 2 teaspoons of salt and 16 turns fresh ground pepper.  Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to a simmer.  Simmer for about an hour, then remove chicken to a bowl.  Using a two bowl system, remove the skin and bones from the split breasts with two forks, then move your chicken to clean bowl and shred.  Repeat until you’ve shredded all your chicken.  Reserve 2 cups of chicken broth.

In a heavy bottomed skillet over medium-high heat, melt 2 tablespoons of butter, then add sliced mushrooms.  Season mushrooms generously with kosher salt and fresh ground pepper.  I sprinkle the whole surface, but you can use approx 1/2 teaspoons of salt as a guide.  Increase heat to high to brown mushrooms, stirring occasionally.  Wait for mushrooms to release all their water, then continue over high heat until nicely browned.  Remove mushrooms to a bowl.

Meanwhile bring a large pot of salted water to a bowl.  Break linguine in half, then cook approx nine minutes until just slightly less than al dente.  Drain.

In the same skillet used to brown the mushrooms, melt remaining 4 tablespoons of butter, then add flour, stir, and brown for 2 minutes.  Add milk while whisking furiously, then add wine and chicken broth.  Bring to a boil, then continue to cook over medium heat for 3 more minutes.  Whisk every 30 seconds or so.  Add a teaspoon of salt and 20 turns of fresh ground pepper, then 2 cups of the grated parmesan and the thyme.  Stir to combine, then adjust seasonings to taste.  This is the easiest place to mess up the recipe!  Be sure to season your sauce to taste.  The pasta, the chicken, and the peas are all pretty bland – all the flavor comes from the sauce!

In the now empty pasta pan, combine pasta, shredded chicken, browned mushrooms, peas, and sauce.  Stir until thoroughly coated.  Pour into two 8×8 glass pans.  Top with remaining cup of Parmesan.  Cover one pan with Saran wrap, then press down on casserole to create an airtight seal.  Freeze for up to two months.  Bake other casserole for 30 minutes at 400, until bubbly.  In full disclosure, I don’t use my freezer very often.  I’m not entirely sure what will happen when I cook the frozen one, but Martha says it’s freezer friendly so I believe her.  I’m guessing to thaw it in the fridge the day before, then cook it covered at 400 (30 min?), then uncovered  another 15-20 for browning.  I’ll let you know when I cook mine!

What have I been up to the last six months?  Inertia.  Does that ever happen to anyone else?  I wish I had more to report, just enjoying life mainly.  As for culinary endeavors, here are a few of the best meals we had this summer.  Martha Stewart’s Thai Chicken and Noodle Salad – Click where it says Spicy Asian Dressing for the recipe, do *not* leave out the mint, and if you’re feeling courageous – boil the chicken then hand shred (same method as my Chicken Enchiladas), then marinate the pulled chicken and warm in a saucepan over medium heat for 5 minutes.  If you’re not feeling courageous, you could always buy a rotisserie chicken and shred that, then toss with the marinade and heat.  In any scenario, the result was great!  The Italian Beef Stew from Jan/Feb issue of Cooking Light was shockingly good.  Shockingly, because I almost never want to make *anything* from Cooking Light, but I keep taking the magazine for years on end.  Just remember to add your fresh herbs right at serving time, otherwise they’ll be browner than green.  So much prettier that way.  And of course tons of shrimp.  If you haven’t tried my Roasted Shrimp with Chimichurri sauce, you should.  It’s probably my most requested dish this year.  Roasting the shrimp is covered in this post, and you can find my favorite chimichurri recipe here.

This chicken was a quick weekday night meal for us.  Roasting split breasts does take nearly an hour, but you can half that with your convection setting or use skinless, boneless for a similar meal in less time.  If you go that route – I’d use this style for braised chicken breasts.

Roasted Chicken Breasts with Artichokes, Mushrooms, and Capers

serves 3 adults

3 chicken split breasts

olive oil

kosher salt

fresh ground pepper

paprika

1 can artichoke hearts, rinsed, drained, and quartered

8 oz cremains mushrooms, sliced

1 tbsp butter

1/4 tsp oregano leaves

3 tbsp capers

1/4 c. Madeira wine

1/4 c. water

2 tbsp chopped Italian Parsley

Preheat oven to 425.  Place chicken breasts in a heavy bottomed skillet skin side up, then drizzle with olive oil.  Sprinkle with kosher salt, pepper, and paprika.  Roast chicken in oven approx 45 minutes, then start checking internal temperature.  The larger sizes tend to take just under an hour to reach an internal temperature of 165 degrees.  Remove from oven and cover your handle with a handle sleeve.  (You can use a towel or hot pad, but if you’re anything like me – you’ll suffer at least 3 burns in the process.  Save your skin and buy a sleeve!)

Remove chicken breasts to a cutting board to rest.  Heat skillet over medium heat to reduce the pan juices.  (You can skim any visible fat at this point if you’re counting calories!)  Use a wooden spatula to scrape up all the brown bits.  When juices are reduced by half (approx 3-5 minutes), reduce heat to low and add artichoke hearts, stir.  In a separate skillet, melt 1 tbsp of butter, 1/4 tsp kosher salt, and 1/4 tsp oregano leaves.  Brown cremini mushrooms until thoroughly browned, then remove from heat and set aside.  Add capers, Madeira and water to artichoke mixture, then stir until combined.  Heat 2 minutes, then add creminis and stir.  Just before serving, stir in chopped parsley, let rest no more than one minute.  Plate chicken breasts, then spoon sauce over the top.  Enjoy!

Speaking of Spiceman, there is an intriguing artisan grocery delivery service which recently sprung up in Dallas.  I haven’t tried the service yet, but I am curious about it.  Artizone’s model allows you to purchase artisan grocery products from multiple gourmet stores in one order for home delivery.  Some of the stores currently offering delivery through Artizone include, Spiceman’s 1410, La Duni, Flavors from Afar, and Scardello.  Since that’s a pretty impressive list of vendors, I’ll have to give it a shot.  I’ve used nearly every online grocery delivery service in existence back as early as the late 90′s, unfortunately they all tend to go bankrupt as soon as I’ve become accustomed to the service.  Here’s to hoping that Artizone’s niche service will break the trend!  If you’ve tried Artizone, send me a note!  I’d love to hear about your experiences.

This batch of mushrooms came from Central Market.  They seem hit or miss to me on what types of fresh mushrooms they will have in stock.  The varieties don’t particularly matter, I’ve used all sorts over time.  I look for the most tender mushrooms, (think of the opposite of the creminis, they’re the only meaty mushrooms I choose).  This batch used hedgehog, brown clamshell, oyster, and creminis.  At least two of those are described as being similar in flavor to chanterelle mushrooms, which are my all time favorite mushrooms, but currently out of season.

Cream of Mushroom Soup

(approx 3 qts, serves 7-8 bowl size, 10-12 cup size servings)

8 tbsp butter

1 large yellow onion (not sweet!), chopped

4 stalks chopped celery

1/4 tsp cayenne pepper

6 cloves garlic, chopped

1/3 lb. fresh oyster mushrooms, chopped

1/3 lb. fresh Hedgehog Mushrooms, chopped

1/3 lb. fresh Brown Clamshell Mushrooms, chopped

1 lb. cremini baby bella mushrooms, sliced

1 tsp dried thyme leaves

kosher salt

fresh ground pepper

3/4 c. Courvoisier

6 c. chicken broth

1 c. heavy cream

Heat a large stock pot over medium heat.  Melt 4 tbsp of the butter then add the onions, celery, and cayenne.  Cook over medium heat for 5 minutes, then add the garlic.  Cook 2 minutes, then add the remaining 4 tbsp butter and all the mushrooms.   Sprinkle the mushrooms with thyme, 1 tsp of kosher salt, and 10 turns fresh ground pepper.  Raise heat to high and brown about 8-10 minutes, stirring every minute or so with a wooden spatula.  Add Courvoisier and cook until liquid becomes thick and syrupy, 3-4 minutes.  Add stock, then bring to a boil.  Reduce heat to low, and simmer uncovered for 15 minutes.  Use a ladle to transfer 1/3 of  soup to a blender to chop.  Pour to a clean bowl, then repeat with the last two portions.  Return soup to stock pot.  Add cream, cook 5 more minutes, then taste and adjust seasonings.  I added an additional 1 and 1/2 teaspoons of kosher salt and a few quick turns of pepper.  Enjoy!

So this one goes out to Mr. Antione.  And my absurd love of rap music.  What?  Who?

First things first.  Mr. Antoine was my 9th grade biology teacher.  He did an entire 6 weeks in the spring on edible plants.  (And 6 weeks in the fall on *in*edible, if memory serves.)   Legendary.  At the time I thought it was all a little bit insane – the plant identification lab, hiking through the field behind RHS in search of edible bits, cooking in class, staying after school to work on extra identification practices with friends…  Hell, now I’m irritated.  Why can’t we go to 9th grade when we’re 30?  That sounds like fun now.  Sadly, Mr. Antione passed away a few years back.  I have no idea what the current 9th graders are studying back at RHS.  I’m fairly certain they’re missing out on the morel mushrooms sauteed in tons of butter lesson.  Rest in peace, Mr. Antione, I feel certain you would have loved this recipe.

And to the rappers, well, I owe you cognac.  Sure, I don’t think think I could possibly consume a glass of it, but I’m glad *you* can.  And I love to cook with cognac.  Even more, I just love to say Courvoisier in my rapper voice.  I thought about linking to the youtube video of the song in question, but my parents read this website.  And on the off chance that one of them might accidentally click on that link, I’m fairly certain I’d be grounded.  Or censured.  Or both.  Either way, this article sums up pretty well how the hip hop music culture has embraced Cognac and greatly expanded its demand.  I think subliminally, rappers have led me to owning 3 different brands of cognac in my liquor cabinet.

The photographed servings were enormous, so I’m editing the recipe a tad to a more reasonable amount.  I promise it will taste better if you prepare while listening to a hip hop station on Pandora.  Or if you need me to, I can still make you a mix cd.  Just ask my sister, Allison.  And if you’re just not into all that, throw on some Michael Bublé, grab a big glass of red wine and own your evening.

Beef Tenderloin over Calamarata Pasta with Porcini Mushroom Sauce

serves 4

.75 oz dried Porcini mushrooms

1 and 1/2 c. boiling water

3 tbsp butter

1/2 red onion, finely chopped

2 cloves garlic, chopped

1 c. Courvoisier (or cognac of your choice)

2 approx 8oz beef tenderloin filets

kosher salt

fresh ground pepper

olive oil

2/3 c. sour cream

1 and 1/2 c. heavy cream

8 oz dried Calamarata Pasta

1 tbsp lemon juice

1/2 tsp Black Truffle Salt

Add dried mushrooms to boiling water and let soak for 45 minutes.  Drain, rinse, soak another 5 in boiling water.  Drain, then pat dry with towels to reduce excess moisture.

Melt butter in a saute pan.  Add mushrooms, onions, and garlic to pan, then cook 3 minutes over medium heat.  Add Courvoisier and let continue to cook.  Start you fillets, but be prepared to come back to your sauce when your fillets hit the oven.

Preheat an oven to 450.  Generously season fillets with kosher salt and fresh ground pepper.  Heat a stainless saute pan over medium high heat for about 2 minutes.  Add olive oil, swirl, then quickly add fillets.  Brown on all sides, about 6 minutes in total depending on your thickness.  Then move to oven, cook to an internal temperature or 138 in the thickest part.  Start checking temp after 6 more minutes. Set a timer, you’re going to be busy.  When fillets hit the proper temp, move to a cutting board to rest.

To the mushroom sauce, add sour cream and cream.   Cook over medium high heat, stirring every two minutes with a spatula.  Do not stress about this, you want to cook and then cook it some more.  If it looks bubbly and like it’s cooking onto the pan, good.  Stir gently and cook some more.

Meanwhile, bring a large pot of water to boil – at least 6 cups.  Add 2 teaspoons kosher salt once boiling.  Stir, add pasta, then boil for about 16 minutes then check the tenderness by taste.

As the mushroom sauce begins to develop a dark color and a thick texture, add the lemon juice and the truffle salt.  Stir, then continue cooking over medium.  You want the sauce to continue bubbling.

Drain the pasta when ready, then fold into the mushroom sauce.  On your cutting board, slice fillets into strips, then top a pasta serving with tenderloin in a fan pattern.  Top with a gentle sprinkling of chives.  Cheers.  And Pass the Courvoisier.

Even after breaking out the cloth napkins and my festive Longhorn napkin rings, my football team failed to perform.  With all of this jinxing, you’d think I’d be more frustrated.  The thing is, I Love A Party.  Top to bottom, the whole event.  And this party, created as a contest entrance, represents my very favorite style of party and my style in general.  I’m calling it China and Jeans.  Because though I broke out the china and crystal, polished the silver, and created a luxurious menu, I fully expect you to arrive in jeans.  I know I’ll be wearing jeans, probably paired with flip flops.  Because they’re comfortable.  And don’t give you blisters.  But that doesn’t mean I can’t use my china.

I want to encourage you to break out your china and use it.  There is no point to having beautiful things if they just sit in a cabinet.  And you don’t have to throw a dinner party to do it.  You can eat a hot dog on china all by yourself on a Tuesday if you want.  Life is meant to be enjoyed.

Luxury Dinner Party Menu

Hors d’Oeuvre

Skewered Mushrooms with Fresh Basil Pesto Cream Sauce

Soup

Spinach Soup with Madeira Cream

Entree

Fried Avocado Stuffed with West Indies Crab Salad or Chicken and Cotija Cheese

Lemon Basil Quinoa

Dessert

Cheesecake Tartlet

Beverages

San Pelligrino

Bodega Norton Malbec Reserve 2007

Bodega Sottano Reserva Malbec 2007

Girard Suavingnon Blanc 2008

The contest requirements called for creating a luxurious dinner party menu using new and exotic flavors.  I’m more of a classic flavors cook, but I have a few things that I consider new and exotic in my repertoire.  In home entertaining the soup course has largely been lost.  I love a soup course, and what better medium to deliver your vegetables than soup?  My recipe for spinach soup was written up last August.  I think my fried avocados make a powerful presentation so I offered a choice of fillings with a version of my West Indies Crab Salad or a slightly spicy shredded chicken and cotija cheese.  Quinoa is a relatively new food trend, and I love the crunch it offers in place of a traditional rice or pasta.  I’m still deciding what flavors marry best with the quinoa, but it always seems exotic.

Argentina is quickly becoming one of the world’s up-and-coming wine regions.  I picked 3 selections from Costco all rated 90 points by Wine Enthusiast or Wine Spectator.  I’ve never been a fan of traditional pairing, I prefer to drink what tastes good – not what matches the food.  In red wines, I look for descriptions using the words blackberry, dark fruit, and vanilla – even though my brain doesn’t associate these flavors with wines I enjoy.  Sometimes I think wine educators just grab words out of a hat and then start throwing it around with wild abandon.  Like jammy.  Really?  What does that mean?  No thank you, I would not like a wine glass full of jam.  I don’t even eat jelly with my peanut butter.  In white wine I know I like dry and citrus, while I do not like buttery or sweet.  I just loved the Wine Enthusiast quote on this one, so I picked it, even though it didn’t taste like any pink grapefruit or green apple I’ve ever eaten.

“Bone dry and zesty in acidity, with pink grapefruit, lemongrass and green apple flavors that have a honeyed edge despite the dryness. Vibrant and clean. Nice with a salad of bitter greens and chevre and whatever else you want to add, in a simple vinaigrette. ”

90 Points

Wine Enthusiast

I still haven’t photographed my cheese cake tartlets, so I’ll post the recipe and pictures for that later this week.  Cheers to my sweet friends for dropping plans and joining me with nearly zero notice.  Especially baby Vivian.  Onward and upward to new challenges I go.

I wound up making quite a few other changes to arrive at my own version.  We’re still out of white wine, so I again went with vodka.  I think chicken is highly preferable roasted, so instead of boiling it like the recipe requests, I roasted chicken breasts, then used less water and more chicken stock to provide a base for the sauce.  I didn’t have dried basil on hand and probably wouldn’t have used it if I had, so I opted for a bay leaf and fresh Italian Parsley mixture that gave the stock a lovely color.  I also used my homemade breadcrumbs instead of herbed stuffing.  Then to top it all off, after nearly abandoning ship on the recipe entirely, I failed to notice they only wanted you to use 2 of 4 cups of chicken broth, so my liquids were off and I wound up with a thinner and cooked much longer sauce.  I’d like to point out that the technique for separating the fat from homemade chicken broth in the Cooking Light recipe is pretty novel.  I’m hesitant to put hot things in plastic, and actually, hesitant to waste plastic in general, but it does seem like a handy trick to keep in the back of the mind for just in case situations.

Also, were chicken breast halves REMARKABLY smaller in 1998?  I can’t remember, but the recipe calls for 6 breast halves and 4 thighs, I used 3 chicken breast halves and wound up with the required 4.5 cups of shredded chicken.  *Shrug* go figure.

Decent casseroles, let alone healthy casseroles, capable of being prepared in advance, then say, delivered are almost non-existent.  The whole reason my sister and I were discussing casseroles to begin with was due to me considering purchasing Park Avenue Potluck: Recipes from New York’s Savviest Hostesses.  I was guessing it wasn’t going to contain a recipe for broccoli, rice, and cheeze casserole.  I glanced through it quickly, and it didn’t actually strike me as portable or potluckable food at all.  I may definitely have been to quick to judge though.  If you have this cookbook, please leave me a comment in the comment section – or email me lane@dinnerandconversation.com – I’d love to hear your thoughts.

NOTES – this recipe is adjusted for my error in the sauce measurements.  No need to reduce broth further.  : )

Chicken and Cremini Mushroom Casserole

(inspired by Cooking Light by way of myrecipes.com)

3 chicken breast halves

olive oil

2 c. chicken broth

1 c. water

1/3 c. vodka

3 tbsps fresh Italian Parsley

2 bay leaves

2 cloves garlic, halved

4 c. cremini mushrooms, sliced

1/4 c. flour

1 c. 1% milk

2 c. breadcrumbs

4 tbsp butter, melted

kosher salt

fresh ground pepper

Preheat oven to 400.  Drizzle rinsed and dried chicken breasts with olive oil.  Sprinkle with salt and pepper.  Roast in oven for approx 40 minutes or until chicken reaches and internal temperature of 165.  Remove skin and bones from chicken, shredding meat using forks.

In a sauce pan over medium heat, combine, chicken broth, water, vodka, parsley, bay leaves, and garlic.  Cook on medium heat, reducing to a quantity of 2 cups, approx 45 minutes.

Grease a 9 x 13 casserole with 1 tbsp olive oil.  Line bottom of casserole with shredded chicken.  In a saute pan, heat 2 tbsp olive oil on medium.  Add mushrooms, saute until soft and moist.  Remove mushrooms and reserve.  If saute pan looks dry, add another tbsp olive oil, then flour.  Cook until paste-like and flour assumes a slightly yellow color.  Add milk, whisk until smooth and thick.  Add broth mixture and cook over medium until thickened, whisking nearly continuously, about 10 minutes.  Add mushrooms then season to taste with salt and pepper.  Pour mixture over chicken.

In a small bowl, pour butter over breadcrumbs.  Stir to combine then sprinkle evenly topping the chicken and sauce.  Bake 20 minutes or until bubbly.

I had the most fabulous made by a true Italian from Piedmont.  I of course didn’t photograph it and can’t remember the name of the salami, but I’ll figure it out.  He ran out of cards so I have a name to follow up with all of his info.  I did find Central Market carries his line, so I’ll be sure to let you know as soon as I’ve figured it out.

I also sampled the Promontory, the Barely Buzzed, and the Bandaged Cajun Rubbed Promontory from the Beehive Cheese Company.  I really liked the two Promontory cheeses and love the idea of adding more lavender into my cooking.  I’m definitely inspired to make a lavender salad dressing after that burst of inspiration.  But after perusing their website, what I really want to try is the Seehive, and I’ll definitely be checking for that at the Park City Farmers Market next week or the Salt Lake Farmers Market.  Check back tomorrow for my review of the Park City Farmers Market!

I actually made this dish before I left but never got around to blogging about it.  It’s based off of a Barefoot Contessa recipe, but I can never find the morels she uses, and unless I make it to certain stores, I have troubles finding the creme fraiche.  By all means, if you have the ability, get thee to a Whole Foods or Central Market or other like store and get the creme fraiche.  It  works without it, but once you’ve tasted it with, you’ll never want to go back.  I personally love this dish with fresh chanterelles, but those can be cumbersome to track down as well.  This time I made it with the dried Monterey Blend Mushrooms I can find at most any grocery in Dallas.  I would assume they could be found other places as well.  This dish is definitely rich, but I generally am not a cream sauce fan and this is just such a savory sauce.

Chicken with Monterey Blend Mushrooms – adapted from Ina Garten’s/Barefoot Contessa’s Chicken with Morels

1 oz Monterey Blend Mushrooms

3 cups boiling water

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

kosher salt

fresh ground pepper

1/4 c. butter

2 large shallots, finely chopped

4 cloves garlic, finely chopped

1 c. Madeira wine

3/4 c. sour cream

1/4 c. heavy cream, whipped

1 c. heavy cream

juice of one lemon, about 3 tbsps

Preheat oven to 375.  Pour boiling water over mushrooms and soak for 40 minutes.  Drain, rinse thoroughly, repeat.  Dry with towel to remove any remaining water, then chop finely.

In a skillet, melt 1/8 c. butter on medium low heat.  Season chicken breasts with salt and pepper, then dredge with flour.   Brown on both sides – approx 10 minutes.  Place chicken breasts in an oven proof casserole.

Add an 1/8 c. butter to skillet, then saute shallots, garlic, and mushrooms.  Saute on medium heat 3 minutes stirring with a wooden spatula.  Add Madeira to skillet and reduce by half.  About 5 minutes.  Add sour cream, whipped cream, cream, lemon juice, 1 tsp salt and 12 turns pepper.  Boil until mixture starts to thicken and darken, about 12 minutes, stirring every minute or two.  Pour the sauce over the chicken then cook in oven 12-15 minutes or until chicken is cooked through.

This recipe came from a Williams-Sonoma Simple Classics Cookbook, which appallingly, Williams-Sonoma seems to no longer sell. I have cooked the bulk of recipes from this book, and with the exception of a disastrous Baked Sea Bass with Fennel many years ago, this book is chalk full of solid dishes. I’ve made this recipe more times than I can count, and even have had better than average results from non-seafood eaters. In fact, I think this recipe may have inspired my friend Angela to introduce seafood to her diet.

I make my breadcrumbs from the end pieces of Orowheat Oatnut bread. I’ve linked to their site before, but after just checking again, their products page STILL seems to be under construction, so I’m not going to bother again. When we finish a loaf I throw the two end pieces in the freezer, and when I have a bunch of them, I grind them up in the Cuisinart and freeze the breadcrumbs for later use. It was a handy tip I picked up from an Austin Mama that fits in well with my efforts to reduce our food waste.

I’m also a bit of a horseradish snob. Or maybe just picky. We like the kind of horseradish we call kick-your-dog-hot. Not because we would possibly ever kick an animal, but because once, when making homemade horseradish, my eyes were watering so badly I tripped over the dog, resulting in my husband asking if the finished product would be kick-your-dog-hot. It stuck, even though my attempts at making homemade freshly prepared horseradish have not. After all the pain of grating, mine just wasn’t that hot. But, the Silver Springs Organic Brand Horseradish is the best I’ve found. Horseradish can be tricky to find in the grocery store, too. ALWAYS buy the refrigerated kind. It’s usually on a high shelf somewhere near the dairy/biscuits/butter/eggs section.

My sister found the most wonderful store for mushrooms in Dallas. Spiceman’s FM 1410 is full of fresh from the farm produce and always has an incredible mushroom selection. Plus they are full of tips. And unusually nice. People can often be so snotty about food and cooking, this is the absolute opposite experience. I may just have to move across town so I can hit the store more often.

breadcrumbs

1/2 lb small fresh mushrooms

1/4 c. butter

1 large or 2 small shallots, chopped

juice from 1 1/2 lemons

3 tbsps dijon mustard

1 1/2 tbsps prepared horseradish

1/4 freshly grated Parmesan Cheese

1/2 c. sour cream

salt and freshly ground pepper

5 sole fillets

Position a rack in the lower part of an oven and preheat the oven to 425. Butter a flameproof baking dish that will accommodate the fish fillets in a single layer without crowding.

Clean the mushrooms by brushing them with a paper towel; do not wash. Slice thinly and set aside.

In a saute pan over medium-low heat, melt the butter. Add the shallots and saute, stirring, for 1 minute. Raise the heat to medium, add the mushrooms, and cook, stirring and tossing, until the mushrooms are just wilted, 2-3 minutes. Set aside.

In a bowl, stir together the lemon juice, mustard, horseradish, Parmesan cheese, and sour cream until well blended. Add to the mushrooms, return to the heat, and bring just to a simmer. Stir to blend and season to taste with salt and pepper.

Rinse the sole fillets and pat dry. Place in the prepared baking dish i a single layer ad spoon the sauce over the fillets. Sprinkle the bread crumbs evenly over the top. Bake until the fish is opaque through-out when pierced with a sharp knife, 10-20 minutes, depending on thickness.

Serve at once.