Chicken with Creamy Mushroom Sauce

I've been watching a ton of Food Network lately, which is good because I get a lot of new recipe ideas, but it's also bad because I see so much delicious food that I can't immediately eat. I have discovered so many great shows lately. Our PVR is really filling up, and I have gotten so many good ideas for dishes to try!

I was watching one show where they were making chicken with mushrooms in a cream sauce, and I pretty much thought about that dish for days. I never used to like mushrooms much, but I guess my palate has developed because now I really enjoy them. I finally decided to make it, so I adapted a recipe I found from the BBC, since I couldn't remember the show that I saw it on. I am so glad I finally tried it. It's going to be one of my regular dishes on the dinner circuit for sure!

I love cooking with chicken thighs because I find them so much more flavourful and moist than chicken breasts. I also think they are a bit more versatile, in that you can do things like braise them or cook them a bit too long and they don't get dry or lose flavour. The chicken thighs in this dish were a perfect pairing with the earthy, rich taste of the mushrooms and the creamy sauce. This was such a great dish to eat on a cold day. I can't wait for spring to come, but in the meantime, I'll make a lot of tasty comfort food to keep us warm.

Ingredients (serves 2):

• 3 boneless, skinless chicken thighs, trimmed
• 2 to 3 tablespoons of vegetable oil for frying
• 2 cups of chicken broth
• 1 small white onion, finely diced
• 227 g of white mushrooms, washed and quartered
• 1/4 cup of white wine
• 1/4 cup of heavy cream
• Salt and pepper to taste

Put a large pan on medium-high heat. Make sure it is hot before adding the vegetable oil and chicken. Sauté the chicken thighs until they are golden brown on all sides. This is not meant to cook the chicken through, but just to add some flavour to the chicken.

Once the chicken thighs are browned, transfer them to a medium pot. Add the chicken broth and bring it to a boil. Immediately turn the heat down to low and simmer, lid askew, until the chicken is cooked through. It took me between 15 to 20 minutes, but since cooking times will vary, you should check that your chicken is done using either a thermometer or by cutting into the meat.

In the pan used to sauté the chicken, add more vegetable oil if needed. Add the onion and cook for several minutes until it is softened, then add the mushrooms and cook for several minutes until they are softened. Add the white wine. Simmer until the liquid in the pan has reduced and has almost been absorbed by the mushrooms.

Once the chicken has cooked, pour the stock into the pan. Turn off the pot's burner, but keep the chicken thighs in the pot with the lid on to keep them warm. 

Bring the contents of the pan to a boil over high heat and allow it to cook uncovered until it has reduced and thickened. The amount of time you allow the sauce to reduce will depend on how thick you like your sauce. I prefer a thicker sauce, so I allowed it to reduce significantly, as you can see in the pictures above and below. Keep in mind that you will still be adding cream, so the volume of the sauce will increase.

Turn off the heat. Stir in the cream. There should be enough heat in the pan to allow the sauce to continue to simmer. (If not, turn the heat back up as high as necessary to simmer the contents.) Allow the sauce to heat through for a minute or two and thicken. Season to taste.

Remove the chicken to a serving dish and pour the sauce over the chicken. Serve with rice or pasta as desired.

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I shared this on:

Nifty Thrifty Things | Addicted to Recipes | Under the Table and Dreaming

One Tough Mother | Chef in Training | Savvy Southern Style

Buns in My Oven | Craftberry Bush | Six Sisters' Stuff