Brandon's Julia Chicken

This week's creation goes out to Mrs. Julia Child. Last week, David and I watched Julie and Julia, and I once again found a deep love for Meryl Streep. This evening, I was thinking on Julia and her love of French cuisine and the fact that I can't even make French Fries.

So I decided to experiment with some ingredients that are classic to French cuisine. In the end, this treat turned out very well because I remembered, at the last minute, after tasting my uber bland creation that Julia says that butter makes everything better. I added butter to the recipe, and I literally considered licking the pan. Butter is evil, but it tastes soooo delicious.

Here is my homage to Julia Child. Bon appetit!

Brandon's Julia Chicken

1 large boneless skinless chicken breast
1 large portobello mushroom
2 cups white wine (may I suggest Pinot Grigio)
3 cloves garlic diced
1 jalapeno minced
1/4 large yellow onion diced
1 tsp dried basil
2 tbs salted butter
1 tbs olive oil
salt

This was a great leftovers recipe. I had already baked, en masse, chicken breasts that had been cut into serving size portions. I used two of these (roughly one half of one full breast or one whole breast as you would buy them in a package of boneless skinless breasts, I got mine from the butcher so they gave me the actual breast of the bird and not what we normally think of us the breast).

If you don't have already baked chicken breasts hanging around the fridge, the first thing to do is to bake your chicken breasts. In small greased (or sprayed) baking pan, bake your chicken breasts for 30-40 minutes at 400 degrees or until cooked. Remove from the oven and slice the cooked breasts width wise into eatable slices (imagine the breast is a portobello mushroom and cut it how those delightful mushrooms are often cut). Set the breasts aside.

Next, pour the wine into a medium size mixing bowl. Add the chicken to the wine and add a couple pinches of salt to the bowl along with the dried basil. Let that soak for about a half an hour at room temperature.

I served this dish with red potatoes that I boiled with broccoli, which gave a wonderful contrast. If you are inclined to do the same, start your potatoes and broccoli to boiling now.

About 20 minutes into your marinating session, heat the olive oil in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Once your oil is nice and toasty, add the garlic and the onions to the pan. Saute the onions and garlic until the onions begin to soften. Do not brown the garlic. After about four minutes, add the chicken and white wine to the sauce pan. Then add the jalapenos and the mushrooms. Allow the dish to simmer, stirring occasionally. After about 10 minutes, add the butter to the pan. Allow the butter to melt and stir slowly the entire time it is melting. As the dish continues to simmer, the white wine and butter will thicken a bit making a rich sauce. You can add a dash of salt to the dish during this last bit of cooking. After about five minutes, remove from heat and serve with your delicious potatoes and broccoli.

This is one of my new favorites, and it is divine. I even managed to stay on my portion size, and I have plenty of leftovers. This little dish can be cooked (use three buck chuck from Trader Joe's if you can for the wine) for anywhere between $6 and $15 and will easily serve four people.