The Best Meal Ever

With me being on break, I don't have any medical stories for you, so I'm going to post about the amazing dinner I made tonight. Since seeing Julie and Julia, I've been wanting to try some of Julia Child's recipe. In the movie, Julie makes this yummy creamy mushroom chicken thing. Well, I found the recipe and made it tonight. It was A.M.A.Z.I.N.G. I'm not kidding; hands down one of the best meals I have ever cooked. I don't have any pictures, but let me tell you that I licked my plate when we were done. Please, go out and get the ingredients to make this meal. Make sure you plan it for a night where you have some time....it takes awhile, but definitely well worth it. One bite in, Jake says "Umm you are making this again right?"

Supremes de Volaille aux Champignons

(Chicken Breasts with Mushroom and Cream)

Source: Mastering the Art of French Cooking, Vol. I by Julia Child, Louisette Bertholle and Simone Beck (Knopf, 1961)

Ingredients:

4 supremes (boneless, skinless chicken breasts)

1/2 teaspoon lemon juice

1/4 teaspoon salt

Big pinch white pepper (I left this out, we hate pepper.)

5 tablespoons butter

1 tablespoon minced shallot or green onion (I used shallot)

1/4 pound diced or sliced fresh mushrooms

1/8 teaspoon salt

For the sauce:

1/4 cup white or brown stock or canned beef bouillon (I used chicken stock)

1/4 cup port, Madeira or dry white vermouth (I used Madeira)

1 cup whipping cream

Salt and pepper

2 tablespoons freshly minced parsley

Directions:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Rub the chicken breasts with drops of lemon juice and sprinkle lightly with salt and pepper. Heat the butter in a heavy, oven-proof casserole, about 10 inches in diameter until it is foaming. Stir in the minced shallots or green onion and saute a moment without browning. Then stir in the mushrooms and saute lightly for a minute or two without browning. Sprinkle with salt. (With being at Jake's, my kitchen supplies are limited. I used his large metal deep skillet and put that in the oven. Just make you remember that the handle will be hot (unlike me) because you will burn yourself.)

Quickly roll the chicken in the butter mixture and lay a piece of buttered wax paper over them, cover casserole and place in hot oven. After 6 minutes, press top of chicken with your finger. If still soft, return to oven for a moment or two. When the meat is springy to the touch it is done. (Please Note: Although Julia suggests to check the chicken after only 6 minutes, I (as well as other people on the internet!) feel that this amount of time is inadequate to thoroughly cook the chicken. I cooked it for closer to 30-40 minutes. I think my final time was 42 minutes, but some of my chicken pieces were really thick. I think at 30 min, I pulled them out and cut into them to check and there was still a little pink).

Remove the chicken to a warm platter (leave mushrooms in the pot) and cover while making the sauce (2 to 3 minutes).

To make sauce, pour the stock and wine in the casserole with the cooking butter and mushrooms. Boil down quickly over high heat until liquid is syrupy. Stir in the cream and boil down again over high heat until cream has thickened slightly. Off heat, taste for seasoning, and add drops of lemon juice to taste. Pour the sauce over the chicken, sprinkle with parsley and serve immediately.

Serves 4.