Recipe

Chicken Paillard With Mushrooms And Cognac Recipe

	Dond / All my dishes 1 year, 2 months ago This recipe comes to me courtesy of Chef Leslie Meyer. It's a relatively simple way to make plain chicken breasts seem a lot more sumptuous than they really are. The combination of ingredients give the sauce a richness that belies the fact that this dish takes practically no time to fix.... More Prep:15m Cook:20m Servings:4	Dond
	quick uncomplicated

Does this look good? Yeah! / Nope

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Ingredients

4 chicken breasts

salt and pepper

2-3 Tbsp unsalted butter

3 Tbsp finely chopped shallots

1/2 lb white or cremini mushrooms, sliced thin

2 oz Cognac

1/4 cup dry white wine

1 Tbsp Dijon mustard

3/4 cup chicken stock (real stock, not broth)

1/2 cup heavy cream

3 Tbsp finely chopped fresh chives

Directions

Butterfly the chicken breasts (hold the chicken breast down with the heel of your hand and carefully slice it -- the chicken breast, not your hand -- nearly in half; then sort of unfold it as if you were opening a book)

Place a sheet of plastic wrap over the butterflied chicken breast and pound it with a mallet until it is about 1/4 inch thick

Season the flattened, butterflied chicken breasts with salt and pepper.

Add 1/2 Tbsp butter to a sauté pan and heat until foaming subsides.

Sauté each chicken breast until it is just turning brown (about 1 or 2 minutes) -- don't overdo it, since they will go back into the pan later to finish cooking. And don't crowd them in the pan -- if you have to brown them in batches, no problem.

Keep the chicken breasts warm as you prepare the sauce.

In the same pan, add the shallots and cook for a minute (you may need to add another Tbsp of butter).

Add the cleaned, sliced mushrooms and cook until they are lightly browned.

Take the pan off the heat and add the Cognac. DON'T do this while the pan is still over the heat -- definitely not a good idea.

Return the pan to the heat and let the alcohol cook off.

Add the white wine to the pan and continue cooking over moderate heat until the liquid reduces by at least one-half.

Whisk in the mustard and cook for one minute.

Add the chicken stock and bring to a simmer -- cook until the liquid reduces and starts to thicken.

If any juices have accumulated around the chicken you are keeping warm, pour these juices into the pan.

Add the cream and bring the mixture to a boil.

When the sauce reaches the degree of thickness you like, lower the heat and add the chicken.

Bring the pan up to temperature and serve, garnishing just before serving with chopped chives.