Chicken with Mushrooms and Roasted Baby Artichokes

Just writing this post makes my mouth water for this dinner. The sauce has so much flavor, the chicken is ridiculously moist for a bone-less, skin-less breast and the earthy mushrooms are divine. This is a great dinner that takes very little time and can make anyone feel like they have culinary chops. The roasted artichokes that I did with this are my new favorite side dish. It is quite time consuming to trim the baby artichokes as you need so many to make a few servings, but it is worth it if you have the time. I served this with some brown rice and the sauce from the chicken was great on it. I read a ton of recipes for chicken with mushrooms and have cut the calories considerably using a few variations on the endless butter and cream I saw in my research. If you are not a mushroom fan, simply leave them out. 


Chicken with Mushrooms
forks & amusement 2010
serves 4


1 oz dried mushrooms (I like morels, but choose what you like or what you can find. If you want to use fresh, just slice them, skip the first step of the recipe and cook with the onions)
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon butter
2 shallots, chopped (you could substitute for 1 onion)
2 cloves garlic, minced
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
salt and pepper
3/4 cup white wine
1 cup chicken stock
1 tablespoon flour
1/4 cup half and half
lemon juice
chopped parsley or thyme for garnish (optional)


Soak the dried mushrooms for 30 minutes in very hot water. Rinse them and pat dry. 


Heat the butter and oil over medium heat in a large skillet. Add the onion and saute until beginning to become translucent, then add the garlic. Cook for 1 minute, stirring, until garlic becomes fragrant. 


Season chicken on both sides with salt and pepper and add to the pan. Leave the chicken to brown on both sides for 2 minutes or until it has a rich brown color. Add the white wine to the pan to deglaze and scrape up the brown bits from the bottom of the pan. Add the stock and mushrooms and bring to a boil. Cover, set heat to low and simmer for 10-15 minutes or until chicken is cooked through (I like to use a quick time thermometer). 


Remove chicken from the pan onto a plate or platter and tent with foil to keep warm. Raise heat to high to bring to a boil. Sprinkle the flour all over the sauce, stir and cook for 2 minutes to thicken the sauce. Add the half and half and allow to sauce to reduce and thicken, about 3 minutes. Once thickened, spritz with the juice of half a lemon and pour sauce over chicken. Serve immediately adding some garnish of herbs if you have it. 


Roasted Baby Artichokes


baby artichokes (8-10 per person)
2 lemons
olive oil
salt and pepper


Prepare a large bowl with cool water. Juice the lemons into the water and throw them into the bowl as well. (artichokes oxidize very easily, so this keeps them from turning really brown, really fast)


Working one-by-one, with a sharp paring knife, cut the stem off of the artichoke and dip the cut end into the lemon water. Quickly pull off all of the leaves, peeling down towards the heart until just the tender yellow leaves are exposed. Using your knife, trim any dark green from the bottom. Cut off the very top, cut in half and submerge in the lemon water. 


Once all of the artichokes are done. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Drain and dry off the artichokes and place in a roasting pan. Drizzle with olive oil, salt and pepper. Mix well so it gets all over the artichokes. Roast for 30 minutes, turning each over once half way through. They should be tender, but crisp on the outside. 


Serve warm or at room temperature. 


Enjoy! 
xoxo
Erin