chicken and mushrooms in cream sauce

B and I have what I consider to be a really great marriage. We just fit together so well, you know?

But everyone's got quirks. Lord knows I've got mine (and if you ask B nicely, or even not-so-nicely, he'll probably share them with you). But his is that he's always got to be watching something. Constantly. And it drives. me. batty. The TV is always on. Or he's watching YouTube videos. Or sometimes both at the same time. I just can't even. I loathe background noise. It's the holiday season. Can't we have a friggin' silent night?!

But B's incessant YouTube-ing, while giving me more gray hairs than I can count, also resulted in, well, dinner. Because he found this video called "Cook Like a French Chef in 7 Minutes." And yeah, I hate videos, but I love France. And also food. Especially food. Bonus points since this meal was 100 percent nutritionist-approved.

And it was, like, 600 percent tastebud approved. I mean, seriously. This meal was incredible. That cream sauce, y'all...I'm going to have dreams about that. And the chicken was crispy, the veggies savory, and just...yum. It's really a complete meal in itself, although we added a side of roasted broccoli. It is a little bit time consuming (and the flambé bit a little hair-raising), but overall it's an easy one-pan meal that looks so impressive. Dinner parties? Best idea ever.

So I might forgive B for his constant watching...this time, at least. And maybe put some headphones in his Christmas stocking, just to save my sanity.

xoxo, and spread it like butter,
E

P.S. Ahem. You will notice that, in addition to typing out the recipe below, I also linked to the YouTube video for all you auditory learners out there. May God have peace on your noisy little souls.

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chicken and mushrooms in cream sauce

An easy and impressive one-pan meal. Gluten-free.

Serves 4

Ingredients:

olive oil

butter

4 raw chicken thighs, deboned, skin-on, warmed to room temperature

3/4 cup mushrooms, thinly sliced

1/4 cup mushrooms, roughly chopped

1 shallot, roughly chopped

1 clove garlic, minced (we used two, because garlic)

1 zucchini, julienned

1/3 cup heavy cream

1/3 cup white wine

tarragon (we used rosemary since we don't have tarragon)

Directions:

Pat dry your room-temperature chicken. Season with salt and pepper.

Add equal parts olive oil and butter to a skillet and let melt.

Once hot, place the chicken in skin-side down. Let it crisp and become golden brown.

Flip chicken over, turn heat to low, and baste (baste it with thyme for extra flavor).

Once cooked, remove chicken from pan and set aside.

Add shallots to the pan, letting them slowly cook down and caramelize.

Toss in zucchini and mushrooms, then increase heat to medium-low. Make sure to slowly stir the vegetables and infuse all flavors together.

Add minced garlic and allow to cook down.

Remove veggies from pan and set aside.

Add a splash of whisky to your pan, turn on high heat, and carefully light with a candle lighter, making sure to do so from a safe distance (it should go without saying that B did this part).

Once fire has subsided, add 1/3 cup of white wine to the pan to deglaze.

Once deglazed, add 1/3 cup heavy cream and mix until evenly incorporated.

Place veggies in the plate to form a base.

Cut your chicken thighs at an angle and place on top of the veggies.

Drizzle sauce artfully over your creation, et voila!

Bon appetit!

nutrition:
sugar-free
gluten-free

Recipe adapted from Brothers Green Eats.