Saucy!

Much as I wanted to just come home and have a bowl of cereal for dinner tonight, I forced myself to cook the boneless, skinless chicken breasts defrosting in the refrigerator. What easier way than a simple saute, with a sauce made in the same pan.

The technique for making a simple pan sauce is easy - saute a savory ingredient or herb in the pan drippings (or fond, as it is often called), add a savory liquid, let it thicken, then add a finish, if so desired. You start by sauteing your chicken on high heat in olive oil, vegetable oil, or a butter and oil combo. You can even do this in stages, as I did, as I had 4 rather large breasts, and only 2 fit in the pan. Get a really good sear on the chicken on both sides, and you'll notice that some brown bits form in the pan. This is the fond, and the basis of a really good sauce.

Once done with the chicken, you'll want to add some savories - finely choppen onion, shallot, green onions, or garlic. Sage is also good to add now - it may crackle in the pan as it "fries". I had sauteed some minced garlic in my olive oil just prior to adding the chicken. Be careful about garlic, I only let mine saute for about 30 seconds, as it can get brown fast and brown = bitter. I minced a shallot, and added it to the pan, where the reamaining oil softened the shallot. You only want to cook your savories until just soft.

Next you add your savory liquid - chicken broth, vegetable broth, white wine, red wine, lemon juice are the usual players. Today I added a half a can of low sodium chicken broth and the juice of a lemon. I think the broth comes to about a half cup. Measurements really are not important. Then you let that boil away, scraping up the brown bits until it gets thickened and you have a syrupy but pourable sauce. Then quickly finish the sauce, if desired. Butter and cream are standard. I added 2 teaspoons of butter and it thickened the sauce slightly and gave it a nice creamy finish. I also added a scant teaspoon of cream. Now is the time to finish with fresh herbs as well, as you they will lose the note of freshness if they cook too long. Capers are popular to add to a lemon sauce as well, though I would skip the cream.

I poured the sauce over my chicken and garnished with some chopped green onion tops. Parsley would also be great.

I added some saffron rice with chopped green onion whites and a simple salad and dinner was done. (and would feed me for the next 2 nights as well)