Weeknight Pan Roast

It's cold here in the Puget Sound area and with the lad home tonight it invokes a hearty dinner.  Tonight we're keeping it simple but still a favorite around Casa Hunger - pan roast chicken breasts dijonaise with buttered carrots and oven roast Dakota russets from our garden this past summer.

Pan roasting a piece of meat is a favorite technique of mine and much used in restaurants where I learned it 30+ years ago.  It's simple, fast and can be completed with a pan gravy of which there are a multitude of flavors and styles.  So here's my take on this for tonight...

Pan Roast Chicken Dijonaise

• 2 Boneless skinless chicken breasts
• Grill seasoning of your choice (I make my own and will share that formula soon in another post)
• 1 Tbl Olive oil
• 1/4 Cup Dry white wine
• 1 tsp Dijon mustard
• 1/4 Cup Heavy Cream
• Salt & fresh ground pepper to taste

1. Preheat the oven to 400F
2. Heat an oven proof saute pan over medium high heat
3. Pat the breast dry and season liberally with the grill spice
4. Add the olive oil to the pan and swirl to coat the bottom
5. Lay in the seasoned breasts smooth side down and cook for about 3 or 4 minutes or until golden brown and delicious or GBD (apologies to Alton Brown)
6. Turn the breasts and place uncovered in the oven until the breasts are firm but still give slightly to the touch
7. Remove pan to the range and remove the breasts to a plate and tent with foil to rest
8. Deglaze the pan with the white wine scraping up the yummy brown bits (the fond)
9. Reduce by about 1/2 then add the mustard and continue to reduce until only a Tbl or 2 remain
10. Add the cream and reduce until thickened enough to coatr the back of a spoon, only a few minutes over high heat
11. Pour the juices from the chicken resting plate into the sauce and season to taste with salt & pepper

• Spoon a bit of the sauce on a plate and place the chicken breasts, sliced on a diagonal on the sauce and serve with the vegetable of choice.

Simple, delicious and on the table in about 30 minutes and we're into this less that $4.  What more can you ask for on a weeknight? 

Hasta