Chicken and Mushrooms in a White Wine Sauce

Last week, I wrote about this past New Year's Eve dinner theme: French. This post is part deux.

For NYE 2016 dinner we had French Onion Soup and Chicken and Mushrooms in a White Wine Sauce — the latter from The Little Paris Kitchen by Rachel Khoo.

I've cooked several of Khoo's dishes — Lemon and Lavender Chicken, Parisian Asparagus and Coq Au Vin on Skewers, to name a few. Each one has been accessible for us home cooks and delicious for all who enjoy simple French dishes. And the photography in this book is gorgeous. It's the prettiest cookbook I own. I'm such a fan that I've given it to several friends and family for holidays and weddings.

My uncle Frank, a recipient of LPK, says this is one of his favorites in the book. He sometimes makes the sauce to put on top of other dishes. Mais oui!

BTW, I didn't change up Khoo's recipe at all, except I forgot to slice the mushrooms (no big deal). Why mess with perfection?

XOXO,
Amy

PS: After writing this entire post, I got this feeling of déjà vu. Guess what? We rang in 2016 with a French theme and Little Paris Kitchen. Quelle surprise!

Sous chef Penny, 7, stirs the cream sauce.

Chicken and Mushrooms in a White Wine Sauce 
(a.k.a. Poulet aux champignons avec une sauce au vin blanc)
The Little Paris Kitchen by Rachel Khoo

For the sauce:
2 tablespoons butter
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
2 cups chicken stock (plus extra in case thinning is necessary)
1/2 cup dry white wine
4 tablespoons heavy cream
1 teaspoon lemon juice
Salt and pepper to taste

For rest of the dish:
2 tablespoons butter
1 pound chicken (or turkey), cut into chunks
8 ounces button mushrooms, sliced
Handful of finely chopped tarragon or parsley

Start by making the sauce. Melt the butter in a large pan over medium heat. Add the flour and beat hard until you have a smooth paste (roux). Continue to beat until the roux begins to have a golden color. Remove from the heat and gradually add in the stock, whisking constantly.

Put the pan back over medium heat and simmer on low for 10 minutes, whisking frequently to keep sauce from burning the bottom of the pan. If sauce becomes too thick, whisk in a little more stock.

Add the wine and continue simmering for 10 minutes. When time is up, remove from heat and whisk in the cream and lemon juice. Add salt and pepper to taste.

While the sauce is simmering, melt the butter in a large frying pan until sizzling, add the chicken and fry for a few minutes until golden. Add the mushrooms and cook for another 5 minutes or until chicken is cooked through.

To serve, mix the sauce with the chicken and mushrooms and sprinkle with some fresh tarragon or parsley. (I much prefer tarragon.)