Chicken Breasts with Mushroom Cream Sauce

When do you add the stock?

i added a splash of chicken broth while sauteeing the mushrooms but when are you supposed to add one half cup?

Add the stock just after the white wine...after you have scrapped up any sucs from the bottom of the pan. Sorry about that...I was just seeing if you were paying attention. I have fixed the recipe to reflect this.

Cheers dawn

Made this tonight for dinner...it is great. I guessed, and added the stock after the wine cooked down, seemed to work. This will go on the "great for company" list. One side advantage, had to open a new bottle of port...made for a wonderful dessert with some yummy cheese.

Would this cream sauce be also good on pasta or do I have to make a couple of adjustments?

This would go nicely with pasta as well, you may just have to make a bit more, as the pasta will soak up the sauce. You also won't be able to deglaze the pan of course, but this would be nice with pasta.

Can i subsitute the wine for anything else? or does it have to be wine?

You can substitute with other liquids. To learn about all of this I suggest watching the "How to Make a Pan Sauce Lesson" in the Rouxbe Cooking School.

I forgot that I don't have heavy cream then can I use roux instead? Thanks

You could make a roux and use that to bind or thicken the sauce. You might just need to a bit more liquid to make up for the cream. Cheers!

Thanks for quick reply. I have now heavy cream ready ;) No need a roux anymore but I'll try it later anyway if I don't have the cream ready next time.
Cheers!

Can someone explain why you need to do this, as opposed to tenting tightly?

Also, sometimes in the video a small hole is cut in the foil and other times there are no cuts - I've always been curious why this is done. Is the small hole inserted so that some of the steam escapes to stop the carry-on cooking process, or to not make the food too watery? You think you'd want to retain as much heat as possible...

Thanks.

Tenting loosely and/or making a slight hole in the foil is done to allow some of the steam to escape. If no steam was allowed to escape then the crust or skin of what you are cooking would continue to cook and steam. Hope this helps. Cheers!

For those of us non-drinkers, what are the names of red and white wines that I can keep in the pantry for use in sauces and flavoring dishes that I won't have to throw out after a week or keep in the refrigerator? And what foods do they most complement? Thanks!

There are no particular brands that we can suggest as we have students from all over the world. Also, wines will eventually go off no matter what the brand. Before using them, simply smell and taste them. If you are looking for something with a longer shelf life perhaps you could try one of the boxed wines or even a vermouth.

For more information on wine and cooking with it you might want to search "wine" (the search field is at the top right of each page) and then click on the "forum discussion" tab as there are many discussions on the topic of wine and cooking.

Also, there is a great book called "What to Drink with What You Eat" that you might find extremely helpful. Cheers!

Sorry, I was not clear...I was thinking of sherry, cooking wine or certain types I have heard do not require refrigeration. I would not inquire about personal preferences. When a recipe calls for white wine, do they mean chablis? pinot blanc? And can a sherry be used for that? Thanks for your quick reply! Also, are we allowed to print off a recipe to use in the kitchen? If so, is there a condensed way to do that?

Julie

When a recipe calls for "white wine" assume that they are referring to a "dry" white wine. If a sweet white wine is required, this should be indicated in the recipe. Boxed dry white wines do not need refrigeration. Talk to your local wine store to get recommendations for inexpensive but good tasting wines to cook with.

If you don't have white wine, sherry can work if it’s dry and of very good quality (like a Spanish sherry). Dry white vermouth also works extremely well and is very reasonably priced.

As for printing recipes, there is a print icon at the top of every recipe. Cheers!

I added the oil and then the butter to the pan that was heated as explained in the pan frying lesson. It was a colossal mess with the butter splattering everywhere! Please explain how to add the butter without such a disaster. Also, the sauce didn't thicken. It was tasty but a bit thin. Any thoughts?
Thanks.

What are other tricks I might try for pounding breasts to 1/4 inch without tearing the meat or getting waxed paper or saran wrap into the chicken itself? I have used mallots, heavy pots, marble or wooden rolling pins and never been effective at flattening a chicken breast. Also, which mushrooms give what kind of flavor? Thank you!

You just have to work carefully. Plastic wrap is helpful because the meat doesn't stick to the utensil that you're using to flatten the meat. I find that it is easier to flatten chicken breasts with the presentation-side facing down. The flesh seems to be looser at the back than at the front. Large chicken breasts can be harder to flatten nicely. That is why we often cut them as shown in the Chicken Saltimbocca recipe.

In terms of mushrooms, this just comes down to experimenting and tasting them for yourself. Here is a good site that offer some information and substitution information. There are also many books available that are totally dedicated to mushrooms. For instance, here is on called "The Complete Book of Mushrooms" Cheers!