This is the first in what is certain to be a recurring theme of Julia Child's recipes in my repertoire. I have made several of her recipes in the past, and plan to continue to do so. She knew her stuff, that's for sure! Last night for dinner, I made Julia's Chicken Breasts with Mushrooms and Cream. Speechless... So delicious. My husband raved about it. Repeatedly. Needless to say, it has officially been added to our rotation of favorite recipes. It isn't difficult, and it is well worth taking the time to make the delicious mushroom sauce instead of using cream of mushroom soup (GASP!) or some other horrific canned something-or-other. We ate this dish up so fast I didn't even get a chance to take a photo, but I can assure you, it looked almost as good as it tasted. (Update 2/12/14: I finally got around to taking a picture. It shouldn't have taken me this long though since Hubby requests this meal all the time!)
Supremes de Volaille aux Champignons (Chicken Breasts with Mushrooms and Cream)
- Total Time: 1 hour
- Yield: Serves 4
Ingredients
- 4 supremes (boneless, skinless chicken breasts)
- ½ teaspoon lemon juice (I omitted lemon juice)
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- Big pinch white pepper
- 5 tablespoons butter
- 1 tablespoon minced shallot or green onion
- ¼ pound diced or sliced fresh mushrooms (I usually double the quantity of mushrooms.)
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
For the sauce:
- ¼ cup white or brown stock or canned beef bouillon (I used chicken stock)
- ¼ cup port, Madeira or dry white vermouth (Chicken stock could be used instead of wine if you prefer)
- 1 cup whipping cream
- Salt and pepper
- 2 tablespoons freshly minced parsley
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees
- Rub the chicken breasts with drops of lemon juice and sprinkle lightly with salt and pepper. Heat the butter in a heavy, oven-proof casserole, about 10 inches in diameter until it is foaming. Stir in the minced shallots or green onion and saute a moment without browning. Then stir in the mushrooms and saute lightly for a minute or two without browning. Sprinkle with salt.
- Quickly roll the chicken in the butter mixture and lay a piece of buttered wax paper over them, cover casserole and place in hot oven. (I ran out of wax paper, so I skipped that step and simply covered the pot...worked fine for me.) After 6 minutes, press top of chicken with your finger. If still soft, return to oven for a moment or two. When the meat is springy to the touch it is done. (Julia's recipe was originally written using small chicken cutlets. For average sized supermarket chicken breasts, I found the cook time to be 30-35 minutes.)
- Remove the chicken to a warm platter (leave mushrooms in the pot) and cover while making the sauce (2 to 3 minutes).
- To make sauce, pour the stock and wine in the casserole with the cooking butter and mushrooms. Boil down quickly over high heat until liquid is syrupy. Stir in the cream and boil down again over high heat until cream has thickened slightly. Off heat, taste for seasoning, and add drops of lemon juice to taste. Pour the sauce over the chicken, sprinkle with parsley and serve immediately.
Notes
Source: Mastering the Art of French Cooking, Volume 1 by Julia Child, Simone Beck, and Louisette Bertholle
Tim in TN
I made this for the first time last night. Amazing. Simple prep and tasted rich and complex. A real keeper. Thanks.
mandyjoy
I am so glad you liked it, Tim! Thanks so much for the nice comment, and thanks for visiting my site!