This comforting skillet dinner is a mash-up of a very simple Wolfgang Puck dish and my favorite Julia Child recipe. It is essentially boneless skinless chicken with a white wine mustard sauce. I added sautéed mushrooms at the last minute because I love a mushroom moment but if you don’t, leave them out.
I made this dish on the spur of the moment when my friend and co-author, Anthony Underwood, told me about a recipe that Wolfgang made on Good Morning America when Anthony was the food producer.
The recipe is for Veal Medallions in a Meaux Mustard Sauce. Meaux Mustard is the whole-grain Dijon mustard that you can now buy almost anywhere—including Trader Joe’s—and that is where I bought mine.
They didn’t cook veal medallions on GMA, but Wolfgang adapted it, using a spatchcocked chicken instead. “It was such a simple recipe, chicken, whole-grain mustard, port wine, and some heavy cream. And probably some butter, because well, it’s French after all. It was one of those gee-whiz moments to watch him create such an elegant dish with the flick of his wrist and a few simple ingredients on live television,” said Anthony.
I love a good chicken and mustard-sauce recipe. In fact, my favorite Julia Child recipe is her Chicken Diablo, which is a butterflied chicken slathered with Dijon mustard, butter, green onions, and white wine. The dish is finished off with breadcrumbs which become crunchy, and the smell in your house while it roasts is absolutely intoxicating.
This mustard pan sauce made me think of the Julia Child recipe, and so I decided to mash up the two iconic chefs and create a skillet dinner that I could make in advance, and, heat up when it was dinner time.
Six ingredients are all you need to make the perfect chicken dish that is quick and easy, and so … [+]
Instead of a whole chicken, I used boneless skinless chicken thighs so that nobody has to cut around the bone but it would be equally delicious with boneless breasts of chicken. This way, the chicken and the sauce can be served on top of rice and it will be easy to eat. Because I love mushrooms, I also decided to add 10 ounces of sautéed mushrooms. I
It is one of the easiest recipes you will ever make with one of the biggest flavor bangs for the buck! That’s what butter, white wine and shallots will do to protein.
Weeknight Chicken with White Wine and Whole-Grain Mustard
This easy dinner of boneless skinless chicken is inspired by recipes from Wolfgang Puck and Julia Child. The wine, mustard and shallots give it a deep and rich flavor that tastes like a reward at the end of a long day. Serve with your favorite rice or pasta and buttery English peas.
Serves 4-6
Ingredients:
6 boneless skinless chicken thighs, chicken breasts, or a mixture of both
3 tablespoons unsalted butter,
2 large shallots cut in rings
1-1/2 cups white wine
1/2 cup heavy cream,
3 tablespoons whole-grain Dijon mustard, or moutarde de meaux.
Salt and pepper to taste.
10 ounces sautéed mushrooms, optional
Method:
1. Using a heavy duty skillet, melt the butter and once it starts to foam, add the chicken thighs and breasts, if using. Cover and let cook for about 3 to 4 minutes or until beginning to brown on the bottom.
2. Turn chicken pieces over and let cook covered for an additional 4 to 5 minutes. Turn back over so that the bottom of the chicken thighs are facing the pan. Let cook for an additional 1 to 2 minutes and remove to a clean plate. Set aside.
3. Increase the heat to evaporate any extra juices—you should be left with the butter and any small amount of chicken fat (melted) from cooking the chicken
4. Reduce the heat. Once the liquid has mostly evaporated, add the shallots and sauté them for about two minutes. Because the fat is hot, the shallots will cook much faster than normal. Stir the shallots around until you have individual rings of shallots. At this point there should be a lot of fond around the sides of the pan and some on the bottom of the pan.
5. Add 1 1/2 cups of wine, a half a cup at the time, stirring after each addition. Let reduce for about five minutes or until hot and bubbly. Add the mustard and 1/2 cup of heavy cream and taste for seasoning. Season lightly if needed. Add the sauteed mushrooms if using; stir well and taste a final time for seasoning. If you are adding the sautéed mushrooms, season only if needed as the mushrooms will also be seasoned.
6. Add the chicken back to the pan and cover with the sauce. At this point you can use the same pan that you cooked everything in, or you can transfer it to a casserole dish with a lid if you’re going to refrigerate it and reheat it later.
7. To reheat, preheat the oven to 325°F and reheat with the lid on for about 30-40 minutes or until hot and bubbly.