Sauteed Chicken Breasts with Whole-Grain Mustard Sauce

Hey girls....We had this dish for dinner last night and really enjoyed the sauce. It would also be delicious to add mushrooms and serve it over steak. If anyone is looking to add to their cookbook collection I strongly recommend anything in the Williams-Sonoma series. They have great books devoted to specific foods like Chicken, Soup, Salad, Cookies, Pies and Tarts, etc. I bought "Italian," "Cake," and "Hors d'oeuvres" gently used online at Amazon.com for a combined price of under $15.00. These books also make great gifts!


4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
Salt and freshly ground pepper
2 teaspoons unsalted butter
2 teaspoons canola or olive oil

FOR THE MUSTARD SAUCE:

1 shallot, minced
1/2 cup dry white wine or vermouth
3/4 cup heavy (double) cream
salt and freshly ground pepper
3 tablespoons whole-grain mustard (Another word for whole-grain mustard is "stone-ground mustard." This is easy to find at the grocery store. I prefer Grey Poupon stone-ground mustard).

Place a large baking dish in the oven and preheat to 150 degrees.

Rinse the chicken breasts and pat them dry with paper towels. Using a meat pounder, lighty pound the breasts to an even thickness of just under 1/2 inch. Season both sides with salt and pepper.

In a large frying pan over medium-high heat, melt the butter with the oil. When the foam begins to subside, add the chicken breats without crowding and cook, without moving them, until just beginning to brown, about 2 minutes. Turn the chicken over and cook until firm to the touch and there is no sign of pink in the center when tested with a knife, 2-2 1/2 minutes longer. Transfer the chicken breats to the baking dish in the oven.

To make the mustard sauce, return the frying pan to medium-low heat and add the shallot (or 3 Tbs of onion). Cook, stirring, until slightly softened, about 1 minute. Add the wine and raise the heat to medium-high. Simmer, stirring with a wooden spoon to scrape up the flavorful bits from the bottom and sides of the pan, until the wine is rduced to about 2 tablespoons, 2-3 minutes. Stir in the cream, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon of pepper and bring to a boil. Simmer, stirring frequetly, until the sauce is thick enough to coat the back of the spoon, 1-2 minutes. Remove from the heat and imediately whick in the mustard just until smooth.

Transfer the chicken breast to warmed individual plates. Top each with 2 or 3 spoonfuls of the sauce and serve at once.

Williams-Sonoma: Chicken (I really recommend this book! It is my favorite chicken cookbook).