Lately I have been obsessed with mushrooms, which is funny because I
used to hate them. See... I may be opinionated, but my opinions can
change. I'm
open minded like that.
Anywho... one
night a few weeks ago I wanted to make dinner without going to the
store, so I used what I had on hand and came up with my family's new
favorite recipe:
Mushroom Chicken
Now, if you love
recipes and follow them to a tee, you're not going to like to cook my
food. I rarely measure anything and so you'll have to bear with my
"some" and "a swig" descriptions. But I promise you really can't mess
this up, so just try it.
What you'll need:
4 Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts
Salt
Pepper
Rosemary {I use fresh and chop up at least a heaping tablespoonful}
Poultry Seasoning
Italian Seasoning
Cooking Sherry or any Dry White Wine
Alright,
stop right there for a minute. You should pretty much have these
ingredients
in your pantry at all times. This is how I season all my
chicken for any meal. Put the chicken in a Pyrex baking dish, season
well with everything listed and pour the wine on top. You can add lemon,
potatoes, asparagus, balsamic vinegar... any number of things, but I
promise delicious, flavorful chicken every time!
Okay, back to what you'll need:
2-3 Large Russet Potatoes
Butter
Lawry's Seasoning Salt
Garlic Salt
Heavy Cream or Cream Cheese
Shredded Cheddar Cheese
Boil
the potatoes until they're soft, drain, add a bunch of all the
ingredients I just mentioned. Mash. Taste it. Probably add more Lawry's.
Done.
Wait, I got
side-tracked. There's still more stuff you'll need:
Mushrooms {I use Baby Bella and I buy them in the bag that is already cleaned and cut... I hate cleaning mushrooms}
Onion
Sugar
More Sherry
Heavy Cream
Parmesan Cheese
Okay, so here's how to do it so that it is all ready at the same time:
Peel
and cut the potatoes into large slices, about an inch thick. Put them
in a pot of salted water and set them on the stove over high heat to
boil.
Season the chicken as I described and put it in the oven at 350 degrees.
Set a timer for 20 minutes.
Heat
some oil in a sauté pan and add slices of onion, the mushrooms, and
about a tablespoon of sugar {keep a little but of the onions and
mushrooms aside for later}. Let this cook, stirring every once in a
while. Let it all
caramelize and get dark and kind of burned looking.
When
the timer goes off, take the chicken out of the oven and
spoon the
onions and mushrooms over the chicken. Don't pour. I use tongs. You want
any juices and little burned pieces to stay in the pan for the sauce.
Put the chicken back in the oven and set the timer for 10 minutes.
Add
some finely chopped onions and mushrooms to the pan that you just took
the other onions and mushrooms out of. About a half a cup or so of
each.
When they have cooked a bit add some of the sherry. I don't
know... maybe a half a cup to a cup. Let that
reduce. Add the heavy
cream. I keep adding it until it seems like I have enough sauce for
everyone. Then sometimes I add some more wine... then maybe some more
cream... just keep going until it seems like it's enough and a good,
thick consistency.
You should probably check on your potatoes right about now. They should be done. Prepare them like I told you to above.
I like to make a simple salad to go along with it.
Did your timer go off??? It probably should be beeping right about now. So pull the chicken out of the oven.
To
serve, put a big pile of mashed potatoes in the center of your plate.
Place a chicken breast leaning on the potatoes. Sprinkle with shaved
Parmesan, then pour some of the sauce over the whole thing. Add a small
helping of salad on the side.
Voila!
Beautiful.
Easy. So yummy.
{Sorry about the iPhone pictures... Iwasn't really planning to blog about this, but I just had to share.}
