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This was the dinner I had planned for last Sunday before I got waylaid by the good looking tuna at the fish market. It was worth the wait. The chicken was moist and juicy and the sauce tangy and tasty. For a meal this good, it was ready in an astonishingly small amount of time. Tossing in time to chop the mushrooms and shallot, the whole meal came together in less than 60 minutes.

The recipe is from Jacques Pepin's Fast Food My Way, a companion book to his 2005 PBS series. It's the first one I've tried from this book and based on my experience with this one, I'm sure I'll dip into it again.

One weird thing about this recipe though. It calls for the oven to be pre-heated to 180 degrees, with the chicken in for 10 - 30 minutes to finish cooking after the initial searing. After 30 minutes, I still had pink meat. It was not nearly cooked all the way through. My oven tends to run cool. So I had set it for 200 degrees and checked the thermometer we keep inside to make sure it was hot enough. The temperature was well above 180 degrees. Taking my cue from Pepin's admonishment to not keep the meat in the oven more than 30 minutes, I put it back in the skillet, over high heat and seared the breasts for 3 minutes more on each side. That did it. Now it was warm all the way through and thoroughly cooked.

The rest of the meal went off without a hitch. I used frozen corn and frozen peas, and they came out with just the right amount of crunch. I had never sauteed this two vegetables before and now that I know how easy it is and how tasty the veggies are, it's likely to become a staple way of adding them to a meal.

Dessert tonight was special, too. Shannon baked a white cake with lemon curd and blueberry topping. It was fabulous. Normally, I'm not a big fan of anything lemony in my desserts but this was quite good. The sweetness of the blueberries and the tartness of the lemons played off each other very nicely. The cake held it all together, literally. A great finish to a very good meal.
Ingredients
2 Tbl unsalted butter
1 Tbl good olive oil
4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves (each about 6 oz)
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1/3 c chopped shallots
1 c diced (1/2-inch) white button mushrooms
1/4 c balsamic vinegar
1 Tbl ketchup
1/2 c water

Corn and peas ingredients
2 Tbl unsalted butter
1 Tbl good olive oil
2 c corn kernels (from 3-4 ears corn)
1 1/2 c fresh or frozen peas (choose baby peas if using frozen)
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp freshly ground pepper
1 Tbl chopped fresh chives
 
Heat the oven to 180°F. Heat 1 tablespoon of the butter and the oil over high heat in a heavy saucepan or skillet large enough to hold the chicken breasts in one layer. When hot, add the chicken breasts, and sprinkle them with the salt and pepper. Saute, uncovered, for about 3 minutes on each side. Transfer the breasts to an ovenproof plate, reserving the drippings in the pan, and place them in the oven and continue cooking for at least 10 minutes but no more than 30 minutes.

Add the shallots and mushrooms to the drippings in the pan, and cook for about 1 minute over high heat. Add the vinegar and ketchup and continue for another minute. Add the water, and cook until the liquid is reduced by half. Add the remaining 1 tablespoon butter and stir until it is incorporated.

Meanwhile, for the corn and peas: Heat the butter and olive oil in a large skillet over high heat. Add the corn, peas, salt and pepper. Saute for 3 to 4 minutes, until the vegetables are cooked through.

To serve, arrange a ring of vegetables on each of four plates. Cut each breast in half crosswise on a slant and place the breast pieces in the center of the vegetables. Coat the chicken with the sauce, sprinkle with the chives and serve.