Braised Chicken with Riesling

This is a recipe that was shared by Mary at One Perfect Bite. I think I saw it when she listed her favorite chicken recipes and she always shares fabulous recipes. I made a couple of changes but nothing dramatic. Mainly I just used chicken breasts instead of what the original recipe called for and Baby Portobello's. This was excellent.

Braised Chicken with Riesling


Ingredients:

5 tablespoons unsalted butter

One 3 1/2-pound chicken, quartered

Salt and freshly ground pepper

1 large shallot, minced

2 tablespoons Cognac (optional)

1 cup dry Riesling

6 ounces white mushrooms, sliced 1/4 inch thick

1 tablespoon all-purpose flour

1/3 cup heavy cream



Directions:

1) Melt 2 tablespoons of butter in a large skillet. Add chicken, season with saltand pepper and cook over moderate heat until slightly browned, about 4 minutes per side. Add shallot and cook, stirring, for 1 minute. Add Cognac, if using, and carefully ignite it with a long match. When flames subside, add Riesling, cover and simmer over low heat until chicken breasts are just cooked, about 25 minutes. Transfer breasts to a large plate and cover with foil. Cover and simmer legs until cooked through, about 10 minutes longer. Transfer to plate.

2) Meanwhile, in a medium skillet, melt 2 tablespoons of butter. Add mushrooms, season with salt and pepper and cook over low heat until liquid evaporates, about 7 minutes. Increase heat to moderate and cook, stirring, until browned, about 3 minutes.

3) In a bowl, blend flour and remaining 1 tablespoon of butter. Stir cream into the large skillet; bring to a simmer. Gradually whisk flour paste into cooking liquid and simmer, whisking, until no floury taste remains, about 3 minutes longer. Season with salt and pepper. Return the chicken to skillet, add mushrooms and briefly reheat. Yield: 4 servings.

My Notes: I feel that the cognac is a MUST. I also used baby portobello's because I feel that they are more flavorful.

My husband who is not a big fan of chicken, can you even imagine that????? However, he loved this dish. I usually serve this kind of dish with Wild Rice but alas, I only had white rice at the time. It was still delicious.

Pared with some crusty bread and a Mixed Green Salad it made for an outstanding dinner and I think definitely dinner party fare.

This was outstanding and will definitely be listed as one of my favorite chicken dishes. I am very happy to add this recipe to my repertoire thanks to Mary.
 
I am joining the blogging party Foodie Friday hosted by Michael Lee West at Designs by Gollum. There are so many other participants of this party with some fabulous recipes to share. You can click HERE to see other participants.