Chicken Piccata with Shitake Mushrooms →

Satisfying, quick and easy, this briny-buttery-lemony-rich chicken recipe is a take on the classic dish Chicken Piccata but made a bit softer and less tangy with the addition of umami-rich shitake mushrooms and chicken stock instead of water. Serve over egg noodles or bow-tie pasta; a side vegetable or a green salad completes the meal.

Serves 4

Ingredients:

• 2 large skinless, boneless chicken breasts

• 3 ½ oz. shiitake mushrooms, stemmed and sliced

• Kosher salt

• black pepper

• ½ cup all-purpose flour

• 4 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil, divided

• 4 garlic cloves, thinly sliced

• ⅓ cup dry white wine

• ½ cup chicken broth

• 1 teaspoon lemon zest (no bitter white pith)

• 1 Tbsp. drained capers, coarsely chopped

• 4 Tbsp. unsalted butter, cut into pieces

• 2 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice (or more to taste)

• Chopped parsley and lemon wedges (for serving)

Preparation:

1. Slice chicken breasts in half crosswise into 4 cutlets and lightly pound each piece between sheets of plastic wrap until an even thickness (about ½" thick or less). Season lightly with salt and pepper.

2. Place flour in a medium shallow bowl. Working one at a time, place cutlets in a bowl and toss to coat in flour. Knock off excess flour and transfer to a plate.

3. Heat 2 tablespoons of oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Working in batches if needed to avoid overcrowding the pan, cook cutlets, without moving them, until deeply browned underneath, about 2 minutes. Turn over and cook on the other side just until chicken is nearly cooked through, about 30 seconds. Transfer to a clean plate and tent with aluminum foil.

4. Add the shitake mushrooms and a tablespoon of oil to the skillet and cook over medium-high heat until the mushrooms release their water and begin to brown. Transfer to the same plate with the browned chicken.

5. Add the remaining 1 tablespoon of oil and sliced garlic to the skillet and cook, reducing the heat and stirring often until golden brown, keeping the garlic from scorching and becoming bitter. (about 2 minutes)

6. Add wine, lemon zest, and capers and cook, swirling pan and scraping up any browned bits stuck to the bottom of the skillet, until liquid is almost completely evaporated. (about 3 minutes)

7. Add ½ cup chicken broth followed by the butter. Stir or swirl the pan vigorously while the butter melts to help it form an emulsion with the chicken stock. (about 1 minute)

8. Return chicken and mushrooms to the skillet with the sauce and simmer for about 2-3 minutes until chicken is cooked through and sauce is thick enough to coat a spoon. Remove from heat and stir lemon juice into the sauce; season with salt starting with ¼ teaspoon and adding more to your taste. Transfer chicken and sauce to a platter and top with parsley; serve with lemon wedges.

*Note: choose a medium bodied white wine that is not too minerally and acidic. A soft white wine from the Loire Valley, a Viognier, or a lighter style Chardonnay that is not too full bodied and oaky will pair well with this dish.

Adapted from a recipe by Chris Morocco @ https://www.bonappetit.com/recipe/chicken-piccata-2

Sticky Grilled Chicken Wings →

Tired of dried out, tough, burned, grilled, tomato/molasses-based barbecue sauce wings? Par-boiling the wings is well worth the minimal effort it takes to produce delicious, sticky, finger-liking-good, juicy, grilled wings. Try this delicious savory-fruity basting sauce on parboiled wings that take less than 10 min. to cook on the grill. The glaze will caramelize on the wings as you grill them. The wings will be tender and juicy and deliciously sticky-messy.

Serves 6
Total prep/cooking time less than an hour

For the Sauce-

Ingredients:

• 10 garlic cloves, forced through a garlic press, grated on a micro-plane, or minced

• 1 Tbsp grated peeled ginger

• 1 1/2 tsp ground coriander

• 3/4 tsp ground cumin

• Rounded 1/8 tsp cayenne (or to taste)

• 1 1/2 Tbsp olive oil or vegetable oil

• 2 cups bottled unsweetened pomegranate juice or cranberry juice

• 1 cup duck sauce (available in Asian section of your supermarket), or smooth apricot jam

• ½ tsp. sesame oil

• 1 tsp. toasted sesame seeds for garnish (optional)

• 1 chopped scallion for garnish; tender, pale green, and white parts only (optional)

Preparation:

1. Cook garlic, ginger, spices, and 1 tsp. kosher salt in oil in a small saucepan over medium heat, stirring, until fragrant, about 1 minute.

2. Add pomegranate (or other) juice and boil until reduced to 1 cup, 12 to 19 minutes.

3. Remove from heat and add the duck sauce and sesame oil and stir until well mixed.

4. Cool (it will thicken slightly).

5. Transfer 3/4 cup sauce to a bowl and reserve for serving.

*Note: while you cook the sauce, bring a large pot of water to a boil.
While the sauce cools, par-boil the chicken wings.

For the Chicken:

1. Boil 3 lbs.chicken wings in salted water for 15 minutes.

2. Drain and pat dry with a paper towel

3. Toss wings and a cup of sauce in a large bowl

4. Grill wings over low-heat on gas grill, or indirect over charcoal 3-5 min. per side

5. Turn wings over and baste with sauce. The sauce will caramelize on the wings as they cook.

6. Remove from grill and plate

7. Sprinkle with sesame seeds and chopped scallions

8. Serve with reserved sauce on the side

Basting sauce recipe adapted from: https://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/sticky-chicken-apricot-glaze

Tarragon Chicken with Mushrooms →

Another French inspired chicken dish with a luscious, creamy sauce and a hint of anise from the tarragon. Serve it with egg noodles and a colorful steamed or sauteed vegetable, and/or a leafy, green salad. Bon appetit!

4 servings

Ingredients:

• 4 small-medium boneless, skinless chicken breasts or two large breasts cut in half, trimmed of fat (1-1 1/4 pounds total) (or 4 boneless, skinless thighs)

• 1/4 teaspoon salt, plus more to taste

• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper, plus more to taste

• 3 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil or canola oil, divided

• 6 ounces of stemmed sliced cremini or shiitake mushrooms

• 1 medium shallot finely chopped (approximately 3-4 tablespoons finely chopped shallots)

• 1/2 cup reduced-sodium chicken broth

• 1/2 cup dry white wine

• 2 tablespoons brandy (optional)

• 1-2 tablespoons. reduced-fat sour cream, or crème fraiche (optional)

• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh tarragon, or 2 teaspoons dried tarragon (you can also substitute thyme and/or rosemary)

• a few squeezes of fresh lemon juice (optional)

Preparation:

1. Place each chicken breast between two pieces of plastic wrap or parchment paper and use a kitchen mallet or rolling pin to pound the chicken to a uniform thickness of about 1/2-3/4 inch thick. Season chicken on both sides with 1/4 teaspoon each salt and pepper. Dust the skinless chicken lightly with flour.

2. Heat 1 1/2 teaspoons oil in a large heavy skillet over medium-high heat. Sautee the sliced mushrooms until they have given off their water and begun to brown. Remove from heat and reserve.

3. Add the chicken and cook until well browned, about 3 minutes per side. After browning the first side squeeze a bit of lemon juice over the browned chicken. After browning the second side, transfer to a plate and tent with foil.

4. Reduce heat to medium. Add the remaining 1 1/2 teaspoons oil to pan. Add shallots; cook, stirring, until softened, 2 to 3 minutes. At this point you can add the 2 tablespoons of brandy and reduce until almost evaporated. (optional)

5. Add broth and wine and bring to a simmer. Cook until reduced by half, about 3-5 minutes. Stir the reserved mushrooms, mustard (optional), sour cream (or crème fraiche), and tarragon into sauce. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

6. Return the chicken and any accumulated juices to the pan; spoon the sauce over the chicken and reduce heat to low. Simmer until the chicken is cooked through, about 4 minutes.

7. Plate and spoon the sauce over the chicken.

*Notes:

If you are not concerned about the extra fat, and you want optimum flavor, choose air-chilled chicken breasts or thighs with bone-in and skin, and skip dusting with flour.

If you choose not to thicken the sauce with the sour cream and mustard (classic French cooking), you can squeeze a little lemon juice over the chicken while you brown it and thicken the sauce with flour like a roux or gravy. (Mix 2 teaspoons flour with 2 tablespoons of melted butter until smooth and slowly add to reduced wine/broth stock, whisking constantly to avoid clumps.)

If you don’t have fresh tarragon, you can add 2 teaspoons of dried tarragon to the stock as it reduces.

It helps to pound the chicken breasts between plastic wrap to an even thickness….this avoids overcooking and helps tenderize the breasts. Or, you can use chicken tenders.

As with all recipes, experiment and make it your own.

Adapted from a recipe in EatingWell Magazine

French Style Chicken →

Our friend in Montreal is a fabulous cook. For years I have tried to replicate the sauce she serves with chicken or game hens. The sauce from this recipe comes close to the rich pan sauce Jeannot makes so effortlessly.

Serves 4

Ingredients:

• 1⁄2 cup flour

• 3-lb. skin on chicken parts (I use thighs, or you can substitute 2 Cornish Game Hens, quartered)

• 2 slices bacon, roughly chopped

• 3 tbsp. olive oil

• 5 cloves garlic, thinly sliced

• 1 cup chicken stock

• 1⁄2 cup dry sherry

• 3 Tbs. Brandy or Cognac

• 2 tbsp. roughly chopped fresh Rosemary

• 2 tbsp. butter, cut into 1⁄4" cubes

• 1 tsp Dijon or Brown Mustard

• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Instructions:

Heat oven to 350°.

1. Place flour in a bowl (or paper bag); set aside.

2. Season chicken with salt and pepper, and dredge in flour; set aside.

3. Heat bacon in a 12" ovenproof skillet over medium-high heat, and cook, stirring, until its fat renders, about 4 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer bacon to a bowl; set aside. Leave the flavorful bacon fat in the skillet.

4. Add olive oil to skillet, and working in 2 batches, add chicken, and cook, turning once, until well browned on both sides, about 12 minutes. Transfer to a plate and tent with aluminum foil and set aside.

5. Pour off excess fat and save.

6. Add garlic to the skillet along with 2 Tbs. reserved chicken fat and cook, stirring, until golden brown, about 2 minutes.

7. Add stock and sherry, and return chicken to the skillet, skin-side up; sprinkle with reserved bacon along with parsley, and then dot with butter.

8. Transfer skillet to oven, and cook, basting twice during cooking, until chicken is cooked through and tender, about 30 minutes;

9. Remove chicken from sauce and tent

10. Strain sauce; reserve sauce and separate grease

11. Use reserved chicken fat and 1 Tbs. flour to make a roux; mix well until roux is the consistency of thick sauce and slightly browned.

12. Add strained sauce to roux whisking constantly to avoid clumps in the sauce; add a bit of chicken broth if sauce is too thick.

13. Add 3 Tbs. Brandy/Cognac and bring to a boil

14. Add 1 tsp mustard; mix well; bring to a boil while whisking; pour over chicken; serve.

Recipe adapted from https://www.saveur.com/article/Recipes/Dolores-Brokenhearted-Chicken/

Inspired by my dear friend Jeanne Renaud.