Chicken Scallopine

Alright, for my first act, let me introduce you to Chicken Scallopine.  This fabulous blend of chicken, mushrooms, wine and heavy cream is absolutely scrumptious, as well as quick and easy.  To be honest it was love at first mention of wine and heavy cream.  I have yet to meet any recipe with these two stars that was less than yummy!

The Ingredients:

• 1 Pound Linguine
• 6 Whole Boneless, Skinless, trimmed Chicken breasts
• Salt and Pepper to taste
• Flour
• 2 Tablespoon Olive Oil
• 4 Tablespoon Butter
• 12 ounces, weight White Mushrooms, thinly sliced
• 1 cup Dry White Wine   (yay!)
• Chicken Broth (optional)
• 1 Whole Lemon, juiced and set aside
• ½ cups Heavy Cream
• 1 Teaspoon (heaping) Capers
• Chopped Fresh Italian Parsley
• Parmesan Cheese, for topping

Source: Pioneer Women, August 24, 2009

First I cooked the linguine according to package instructions and then set aside for later. 

Now it’s time for the chicken.  You need to flatten your chicken breasts to uniform thickness.  The easiest method I’ve used in the past is to cover the breast with a Ziploc bag and literally pound the heck out of it with a kitchen mallet ( a very essential tool in my personal opinion). 

Unfortunately, I started this meal quite late (Aqua Man and I have some very bad habits, including eating late), so in an effort to appease my neighbors, I skipped this step, hence the plumpness in the photos.

After flattening your chicken breasts, salt and pepper both sides and then dredge with flour.  Then heat the butter and olive oil in a large skillet over medium high heat.  Fry chicken breasts until they achieve that lovely golden brown color on each side.  Remove them to a plate and set aside.  You may, depending on the size of your skillet, have to fry your chicken in batches.

Now your skillet is ready for your thinly sliced mushrooms.  Throw your 'shrooms into the skillet and stir.  Immediately pour in the wine (yay!) and chicken broth, if using.  I personally added ½ cup.  Now add the lemon juice.  Stir to deglaze the pan, making sure to scrape up any golden-chicken goodies stuck to the pan.  Cook for about one minute while the sauce reduces.

Now it’s time for the other star player, the heavy cream.  Pour it into your pan and stir, then add the capers and parsley and stir.  Turn off the heat.  Continue to stir the sauce while adding salt and pepper to taste.  That means you actually need to taste the sauce beforehand to get an idea what amount to add people!

Now for the plating of this glorious dish….  This part is up to you.  Pasta, Chicken, Sauce and Parmesan, how could you go wrong?  Food is art and every artist has their own views and tastes.  No matter what you choose, just be sure not to waste a single drop of sauce, after all it is the coup de grace!

Ta da!  From beginning to end, we’re talking about less than an hour until you have a fabulous, hearty meal with a sauce to die for.  After making this for the first time, I will admit that I did double the ingredients to make more sauce, but again, it’s your preference.   Bon Appétit!!   

**One more quick little side note, this dish does fairly well with freezing, my only suggestion is to cut the chicken up before freezing for easier and more consistent defrosting.