Date Night Chicken in Creamy Mushroom Sauce

This is the best chicken dish I’ve ever made. You will want to lick the skillet clean, the sauce is so damn good! I upped the recipe so there’s enough to dunk plenty of bread in or to serve over rice. While this dish is a big wow, the ingredients are far from fancy. The baby bella mushrooms (aka creminis) have a lighter flavor than portobellos and a richer flavor than white buttons (don’t stress—white shrooms play nicely). Congrats! You’ve just mastered a restaurant pan sauce, which you can flex on pork chops, steak, or fish fillets. Go ahead, lick the skillet—just promise me you’ll let the pan cool down first!

SERVES 4 / TOTAL TIME: 30 MINUTES

INGREDIENTS

• 2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (about 1 1⁄2 pounds)

• 1 1⁄2 teaspoons kosher salt

• 1⁄4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

  SERIOUSLY, SO GOOD: Simple Recipes for a Balanced Life. Carissa Stanton

• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

• 5 tablespoons unsalted butter

• 3 large shallots, thinly sliced

• 4 garlic cloves, finely chopped

• 12 ounces baby bella (cremini) mushrooms, thinly sliced

• 3 tablespoons fresh thyme leaves

• 1⁄2 tablespoon balsamic vinegar

• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

• 1 1⁄4 cups chicken broth

• 3⁄4 cup half-and-half

• 1⁄4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

• Juice of 1 lemon

• 1⁄4 cup finely chopped fresh parsley, for garnish

• 1 lemon, quartered, for squeezing

• Crusty rustic bread, toasted, or steamed Perfect Stovetop Rice, for serving

DIRECTIONS

With a chicken breast flat on the cutting board, make a horizontal cut into the fat side of the breast and slice the breast hozrizontally in half to make 2 cutlets. Repeat with the second breast. Cover with a layer of plastic wrap and use a meat mallet or a small heavy skillet to lightly pound the cutlet to an even 1⁄2-inch thickness. Season both sides of the chicken with 1⁄2 teaspoon of the salt and 1⁄4 teaspoon black pepper.

Heat the olive oil in a 10-inch skillet with about 2-inch sides or a large Dutch oven over medium heat. Add the chicken, in batches if necessary, and cook until cooked through,2 to 3 minutes per side. Remove the chicken to a plate and set aside.

Reduce the heat to medium-low and add the butter, shallots, and remaining 1 teaspoon salt and cook, stirring, until lightly golden, 1 to 2 minutes. Add the garlic and cook, stirring frequently, until golden and lightly fragrant, 30 seconds to 1 minute, taking care not to burn the garlic. Increase the heat to medium, stir in the mushrooms and thyme, and cook until the mushrooms are soft, 6 to 8 minutes. Stir in the vinegar and cook for 1 minute, stirring occasionally.

Reduce the heat to medium and sprinkle in the flour. With a wooden spoon, cook, stirring frequently for 30 seconds to 1 minute to lightly toast the flour. Add the chicken broth, half-and-half, and Parmesan and stir to combine. Bring the sauce to a simmer and cook until the sauce has thickened, 1 to 2 minutes. Stir in the lemon juice, return the chicken and any juices to the pan, and gently rewarm the chicken for 30 seconds to 1 minute.

Transfer to a platter, top with a few grinds of pepper, and garnish with the parsley. Serve with lemon quarters and a big slice of crusty bread or on top of Perfect Stovetop Rice.

Excerpted from SERIOUSLY, SO GOOD: Simple Recipes for a Balanced Life. Copyright @ 2024 by Carissa Stanton. Photography Copyright © 2024 by Alanna Hale. Reproduced by permission of Simon Element, and imprint of Simon & Schuster. All rights reserved.

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