Any Day Chicken Sauté

A few months ago, I shared a recipe for Any Day Chicken Sauté from The Bonne Femme Cookbook from Wini Moranville. It's still one of my go-to recipes for weeknight dinners. Given that it is such a staple recipe, I thought I would re-share the recipe, this time with pictures!

This chicken recipe is really straightforward and simple, but the flavor is impeccable. I typically follow the recipe as is, but last time I swirled in a few tablespoons of Trader Joe's fig butter into the sauce--AMAZING!

This is a great recipe to have in your back pocket for an evening that requires a step up from your usual leftovers when friends or family decide to stop by. They'll leave thinking you eat delicious, French-inspired meals every night. As for the leftovers? That can just be our little secret.

Check back here tomorrow for weekend reading!

Any Day Chicken Sauté

From The Bonne Femme Cookbook

4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves

Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

3 tablespoons unsalted butter

2 tablespoons snipped fresh parsley, chives, or chevril (I actually used thyme here instead, and it was delicious as well!)

1 large shallot, finely chopped

3/4 cup low sodium chicken broth

3/4 cup dry white wine

1 tablespoon heavy cream (totally optional--I didn't use it!)

Place the chicken breasts, one at a time, between two sheets of plastic wrap and pound to 1/4 inch thickness (I personally skipped this step, but just know that the chicken will take slightly longer to cook).Season the chicken with salt and pepper on both sides. 

In a large skillet, melt 1 tablespoon of the butter over medium-high heat.  Add the chicken and cook, turning once, until no longer pink inside, 6 to 8 minutes.  Transfer the chicken to a platter, sprinkle with herbs, and cover with foil to keep warm.

Add the shallot to the pan and sauté briefly, until translucent. 

Add the chicken broth and white wine to the pan.  Stir with a whisk to loosen any browned bits from the bottom of the pan.  Bring to a boil and boil until the liquid is reduced to about 1/2 cup.  

Whisk in the remaining 2 tablespoons butter, 1 tablespoon at a time.  If you like, add the cream.  Cook the sauce to the desire consistency, and season with salt and pepper.  Spoon the sauce over the chicken and serve! 

French Onion Soup

When I was in high school, my father would award my stellar academic success bribe me to get good grades by promising me a meal at the restaurant of my choice (he clearly knew me well). These special celebratory meals would always include fine white tablecloths, great views of San Diego, French onion soup, and creme brûlée.

There is something about French onion soup that is a true comfort meal to me. It's bubbly and crispy cheese, soaked baguette, and rich soup with oodles of onions is a perfect starter to a fancy dinner or a great accompaniment to a salad for lunch. The French truly perfected this recipe.

Luckily for us, French onion soup is easy enough to bring home (now, if only creme brûlée were easier!). It does take a few hours, but I highly recommend this recipe for a Sunday night. If you're vegetarian, simply sub in vegetable broth instead of beef broth. Extra bonus--the recipe calls for red wine, so you might as well split the rest of the bottle between you and your date!

French Onion Soup

Recipe from Tyler Florence

1/2 cup unsalted butter

4 onions, sliced

2 garlic cloves, chopped

2 bay leaves

2 thyme sprigs

Kosher salt

Freshly ground black pepper

1 cup red wine

3 heaping tablespoons of all-purpose flour

2 quarts beef broth

1 baguette, sliced

1/2 pound grated Gruyere

Melt the stick of butter in a large pot over medium heat. Add the onions, garlic, bay leaves, thyme, salt, and pepper to the pot. Cook until the onions are soft and caramelized, about 25-35 minutes.

Add the wine, bring to a boil, and reduce heat, and simmer until the wine has evaporated and the onions are dry, about 5 minutes. Discard the bay leaves and the thyme sprigs. Dust the onions with flour and give them a stir. Turn the heat down to medium low so the flour doesn't burn, and cook for 10 minutes.

Now add the beef broth, bring the soup back to a simmer, and cook for 10 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.

When you're ready to eat, preheat the broiler. Ladle the soup into bowls, then top with 2 slices of bread and top with cheese. Put the bowls in the oven to toast the bread and melt the cheese.

Chocolate Mousse

I have a serious case of wanderlust. 

It should be no surprise to anyone who knows me that I am obsessed in love with Paris and all things French. A true Francophile at heart, I long for strolls through Parisian streets and tours of chateaus. I dream of Giverny gardens and the beautiful Parisian skyline. I'll buy anything with a French flag or saying on it (oui oui!). I wish for afternoons spent in bistros. And most importantly, I may spend too much time at work fantasizing about steak frites and croissants.

As part of my French obsession, I have recently been reading Remembrance of Things Paris: Sixty Years of Writing from Gourmet. It's a great compilation of stories covering Paris, food, and occasionally haute couture or other unique topics. Besides the fabulous recipes and food writing, it's a great perspective on how Paris has changed over the years.  

This recipe for chocolate mousse stuck out because it seemed fairly easy and required no eggs. It looks adorable in cute little cups, and it tastes absolutely divine with a sprinkling of sea salt. This is pure dinner party flair--all of your friends will be in shock that you made chocolate mousse from scratch, no mixes or shortcuts required! C'est parfait!

Chocolate Mousse

from Remembrance of Things Paris

1/2 lb fine-quality bittersweet chocolate, chopped

1 cup milk

2 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into bits

2/3 cup confections' sugar, sifted

2 1/3 cup well-chilled heavy cream

In a saucepan, combine the chocolate and the milk and heat the mixture over moderately low heat, stirring occasionally, until the chocolate is melted and the mixture is smooth. Whisk in the butter until it is melted and then whisk in the confectioners' sugar and 1/3 cup of cream. Let the mixture cool and chill it, covered, for 1 hour.

In a chilled large bowl, beat the remaining 2 cups of cream until it just holds still peaks. 

Take half of the whipped cream and whisk it into the chocolate mixture.

Then fold the chocolate mixture into the whipped cream. Folding sounds intimidating, but all you do is simply cut through the mixture with your spatula to work in the chocolate mixture using a figure eight motion. Basically, just try to retain as much air as possible in the whipped cream by folding the whipped cream mixture into itself as you combine the ingredients.Divide the mousse amongst 10 teacups, and then refrigerate the teacups for one hour. Serve with a sprinkling of salt, more whipped cream, or shaved chocolate.

The Good Wife & La Bonne Femme

I rarely watch TV.  I watch Modern Family and Downton Abbey, but that's it.  And then my sister mentioned over Thanksgiving break that I should check out The Good Wife.  

I have now watched fourteen episodes in one week, and I love it.  The plot is loosely based off of the Eliot Spitzer scandal a few years back, but focuses on a cheating politician's life after the scandal.  If you haven't watched it yet, I highly suggest doing so. 

I also highly suggest you make the chicken recipe below.  I found this recipe for chicken with white wine sauce from a cookbook my dad recently bought me called The Bonne Femme Cookbook.  The cookbook focuses on simple, elegant French fare that many women in France excel at.  Bonne femme  literally means the good wife, but the French use it to describe a manner of cooking that is very popular with French women today--seasonal, fresh, straightforward, and elegant.  The recipe below is easy enough to make for a weeknight dinner, but fancy enough to serve your parents, a date, or anyone else you are trying to impress.

Any Day Chicken Sauté

From The Bonne Femme Cookbook

4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves

Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

3 tablespoons unsalted butter

2 tablespoons snipped fresh parsley, chives, or chevril (I actually used thyme here instead, and it was delicious as well!)

1 large shallot, finely chopped

3/4 cup low sodium chicken broth

3/4 cup dry white wine

1 tablespoon heavy cream (totally optional--I didn't use it!)

1. Place the chicken breasts, one at a time, between two sheets of plastic wrap and pound to 1/4 inch thickness.  
2. In a large skillet, melt 1 tablespoon of the butter over medium-high heat.  Add the chicken and cook, turning once, until no longer pink inside, 6 to 8 minutes.  Transfer the chicken to a platter, sprinkle with herbs, and cover with foil to keep warm.
3. Add the shallot to the pan and sauté briefly, until translucent.  Add the chicken broth and white wine to the pan.  Stir with a whisk to loosen any browned bits from the bottom of the pan.  Bring to a boil and boil until the liquid is reduced to about 1/2 cup.  Whisk in the remaining 2 tablespoons butter, 1 tablespoon at a time.  If you like, add the cream.  Cook the sauce to the desire consistency, and season with salt and pepper.  Spoon the sauce over the chicken and serve!