Braised Chicken in Arugula Cream

So my hubby has one of his late nights at work today so it's just me and the baby for dinner. I had a whole chicken that needed to be used up ASAP so I found this great recipe: Braised Chicken in Arugula Cream

From the title, I was worried that it might be a bit labor intensive - which is tough when I only have two hands and the baby usually has dibs on them. Thankfully, it's a pretty easy recipe (and the baby went down for a nap, hooray!).

Use skin on, bone in chicken thighs, drumsticks and breasts. Pre-heat the oven to 425. Heat an oven safe skillet or dutch oven on the stove top with a little bit of olive oil.

Sear the chicken in batches, skin side down. Place them on a plate once they're browned.

Drain the fat from the skillet and add in two cloves of minced garlic and a shallot. Saute for about 30 seconds until fragrant.

Add one cup of chicken broth and put the thighs and drumsticks back into the skillet and place in the oven for 20 minutes.

After the 20 minutes are up, add one cup of cream and the chicken breasts and return to the oven for 15 more minutes.

Check to make sure the chicken is cooked through and transfer to a plate.

Put the skillet with the remaining liquid back onto the stove top and reduce until you have about one cup left.

Put the liquid in a food processor and add one bunch of arugula, roughly chopped. Puree until smooth. You can add 2 tablespoons of butter if you like.

Season the sauce with salt and pepper and serve over the braised chicken.

Pair with rice, boiled potatoes or white beans and shallots.

Give it a try and tell me what you think!

Chicken Piccata

Tonight I wanted to do a dinner that was a little more involved than my Ravioli with Spicy Sage Butter from yesterday. I had recently seen an episode of the Barefoot Contessa on the Food Network Channel and Ina Garten was making Chicken Piccata for her husband as he was on his way home from work. I was mildly envious of Ina's beautiful white kitchen and the fact that her husband was able to be home from work while it was still daylight, and while I knew those were two things I might not be able to have right now, I could still make a delicious Chicken Piccata.

For some excellent tips on ensuring you cook your chicken to perfection, check out my earlier post.

Ingredients

• 2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 egg
• 1/2 tablespoon water
• 3/4 cup seasoned dry bread crumbs
• Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature, divided
• 1/3 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice (2 lemons), lemon halves reserved
• 1/2 cup dry white wine
• Sliced lemon, for serving

Gather together your ingredients for dredging the chicken - flour, egg, water, bread crumbs, salt and pepper.

 Mix 1/2 teaspoon of salt and 1/4 teaspoon of pepper with the flour on a plate. Then beat together the egg and water and put it on another plate. Set aside.

Put your chicken between two pieces of parchment paper or saran wrap and pound thin. I usually use my rolling pin for this.

It should be of even thickness now.

Now's the time to put your pan on the heat (no oil yet!).

Dredge the chicken in the seasoned flour.

Dip in the egg wash.

Then coat in the breadcrumbs.

Now, your pan should be nice and hot so go ahead and add some oil. It should swirl around and steam a bit. Place your chicken in the pan and watch it closely. The seasoned breadcrumbs can burn easily if you get distracted.

It should only take a minute or two on each side.

Now set the chicken aside on a lined cookie sheet and put your second chicken breast in the pan. If you noticed that you have some burned bits in the pan, go ahead and wipe it out with a paper towel and add more oil before putting your next chicken breast in.

Once all your chicken is seared and on the cookie sheet, pop it into your pre-heated 400°F oven and cook for 5 minutes.

Now, it's time for the sauce!

Gather the lemons, white wine, butter and salt and pepper.

Wipe out any burned bit from your pan and melt a tablespoon of butter in it. Add the wine, lemon juice, lemon halves, 1/2 teaspoon of salt and 1/4 teaspoon of pepper.

Reduce the liquid by half, about 3-5 minutes.

Remove the lemon halves and any seeds that might have fallen out. Remove the pan from the heat and swirl in the remaining two tablespoons of butter.

Plate your chicken with a spoonful of sauce and a twist of lemon. Enjoy!

How to Cook the Perfect Chicken Breast

Have you ever tried to pan sear a chicken breast in a skillet and have it stick to the pan, burn, or get all dried out? I've had that happen more times than I can count. However, I've finally figured out the perfect way to cook chicken breast and would love to share with you now how I do it.

First off, let me give you a little insight into the mechanics of cooking. Have you ever burnt your finger? What happens? You get a blister. The skin sears and stops moisture from getting through. While this is sort of a gross comparison, it's exactly the same procedure with searing the chicken. You want to sear the outside quickly so that it traps the moisture in the chicken, keeping it juicy.

Conversely, what happens when you have a lot of water in the pan you're cooking in? You end up steaming the food. It is very important that the meat you are cooking is completely dry if you're going to get a good sear. Always pat your meat dry with a paper towel before cooking. Also, dredging your meat in flour or cornstarch will help to draw our the remaining moisture and gives and excellent sear. 

Another key to ensuring a good sear is to warm up your stainless steel skillet first before adding any oil (if you're using non-stick, you'll need to have oil in the skillet while it's warming up so you're not overheating the chemicals in the Teflon). You can put a little bit of water on the surface while it's heating up and when it all evaporates you'll know it's the right temperature. Once it's hot, pour some oil into the pan. You'll see it swirl around the pan immediately and steam a bit as hot oil does. Now is the perfect time to put your prepped chicken breast in.

And as a side note, pounding your chicken breast thinner so it is an even thickness will ensure it all cooks at the same time.

Cook your chicken until it's lightly browned on both sides and then pop it into a pre-heated 400°F oven for 5-10 minutes. Voila! Perfection!