Julia Child's Recipe for Chicken Breasts with Mushrooms & Cream

One of my favorite chicken dishes in the whole entire world is Chicken Marsala. There is truly nothing more tasty than the combination of mushrooms, wine and cream sauce over chicken in my opinion.  To be honest almost every new Italian restaurant we try I always first order the chicken Marsala to decide whether it's a restaurant that I want to revisit a second time or not.

I also learned to make chicken Marsala pretty well at home. But when I saw this recipe pinned on Pinterest made by Sugar & Spice by Celeste from Julia Child for Chicken Breasts with Mushroom Cream Sauce I decided I needed to give it a try because it had all of the things I love in a chicken recipe.

I finally got around to making it on a Tuesday after a horrifically awful day as a principal responsible for adults who make horrific choices with children but are legally protected by a very strong contract. Comfort, distraction from reality and a reason to open a good bottle of white wine were the perfect remedy for a bad day and need to make this recipe.

This may be the most simple, perfect recipe I've made yet from Julia Child. It really was straight forward and came all together quickly.

Although made with cream and dry vermouth this version of chicken with a mushroom cream sauce was so bright and tasted so much lighter than my favorite chicken Marsala recipes. We both think the addition of lemon juice made a huge difference in the lighter feel of this recipe. We served it with steamed asparagus and plain version of Risotto. 

We both loved this recipe and it easily will be added to one of our favorite recipes collection.

We enjoyed the dish paired with a wonderful Oregon made Chardonnay, Nuthouse made by Argyle Winery that we enjoyed visiting. 

RECIPE:

Supremes de Volaille aux Champignons 

(Chicken Breasts with Mushroom and Cream)

Source: Mastering the Art of French Cooking, Vol. I by Julia Child, Louisette Bertholle and Simone Beck (Knopf, 1961) From Sugar & Spice by Celeste

Ingredients:

4 supremes (boneless, skinless chicken breasts)

1/2 teaspoon lemon juice

1/4 teaspoon salt

Big pinch white pepper

5 tablespoons butter

1 tablespoon minced shallot 

1/4 pound diced or sliced fresh mushrooms

1/8 teaspoon salt

For the sauce:

1/4 cup white or brown stock or canned beef bouillon

1/4 cup dry white vermouth

1 cup whipping cream

Salt and pepper

2 tablespoons freshly minced green onion

Directions:Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Rub the chicken breasts with drops of lemon juice and sprinkle lightly with salt and pepper. Heat the butter in a heavy, oven-proof casserole, about 10 inches in diameter until it is foaming. Stir in the minced shallots or green onion and saute a moment without browning. Then stir in the mushrooms and saute lightly for a minute or two without browning. Sprinkle with salt.

Quickly roll the chicken in the butter mixture and lay a piece of buttered wax paper over them, cover casserole and place in hot oven. After 6 minutes, press top of chicken with your finger. If still soft, return to oven for a moment or two. When the meat is springy to the touch it is done. (Please Note: Although Julia suggests to check the chicken after only 6 minutes, I cooked it for closer to 30-40 minutes. Please use a meat thermometer to ensure the correct temperature, 165 degrees, before serving!)

Remove the chicken to a warm platter (leave mushrooms in the pot) and cover while making the sauce (2 to 3 minutes).

To make sauce, pour the stock and vermouth in the casserole with the cooking butter and mushrooms. Boil down quickly over high heat until liquid is syrupy. Stir in the cream and boil down again over high heat until cream has thickened slightly. Off heat, taste for seasoning, and add drops of lemon juice to taste. Pour the sauce over the chicken, sprinkle with green onion nd serve immediately.

Serves 4.

Source: “Mastering the Art of French Cooking, Vol. I” by Julia Child (Knopf, 1961)