So Sagey

When my Boyfriends fridge was suddenly filled with mushrooms, I went searching for a good tasty recipe to use them in. I came across a few things that sounded great, and finally narrowed it down to either a Chicken Marsala or a Creamy Sage sauce, both from Barn Appetit. I went with option B!





Chicken with Mushroom Sage Sauce

Ingredients:
3 Tbsp butter
1/2 cup chopped shallots (I used 2 whole shallots)
2 garlic cloves (I added this part)
8-10 ounces mushrooms, any sort (I used Crimini sliced and Shiitakes quartered, probably a bit more than 10 oz as I really love mushrooms)
1 teaspoon chopped fresh parsley (Optional, I didn't use any and didn't miss it)
1 cup dry vermouth or dry white wine (I used Chardonnay)
2/3 cup heavy whipping cream
3 Tbsp chopped fresh sage (Fresh from the yard!)
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 1/4 to 1 1/2 pounds chicken breasts (I used 6 little fillets)
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Process:
The recipe I used listed a roasted chicken method, but I just cooked my little fillets in a pan with salt and pepper, then set them aside while I made the sauce.

To make the sauce, start by melting the butter in a large sauté pan on medium high heat. Add shallots and garlic and sauté for one minute. Add mushrooms (and parsley, if using) and sauté for
5-10 more minutes, until the mushrooms have browned. If you are using unsalted butter, sprinkle with a pinch of salt. Add vermouth or white wine and deglaze the pan, scraping up any bits that may be sticking to the bottom of the pan. Stir in the cream. Bring to a simmer and cook the sauce down until it is thick enough to coat the back of a wooden spoon (about 10 minutes).
While the sauce is reducing, add the chicken breasts/fillets back in to the sauce early enough to just warm them. The last step is to stir the fresh sage into sauce, adjust seasoning to taste with salt and pepper. Plate and spoon sauce over chicken to serve. Garnish with chopped fresh parsley if desired.

I served this with minute rice, as that is what I had available, and a side of broccoli. I would have preferred mashed potatoes or a better rice, but I was being lazy and did not realize there were potatoes at my fingertips that I ended up making mashed potatoes with later in the week! Anyway, this sauce was so so so good and so simple, I intend to make it again and again and again. And even though it has the heavy cream, it didn't taste too heavy. I had a hard time putting my fork down and from what I heard from my favorite guy, the leftovers were just as amazing.