Confession: I love to watch Rachel Ray (mostly to make fun with my husband!) but rarely make her recipes. But she made one the other night that I thought about for days, so I made it tonight. It doesn't necessarily look pretty, but it's fantastic!
What I did differently: I didn't have as many mushrooms as the recipe calls for - I just had a carton of sliced white ones. I cut everything pretty much in half so I wouldn't end up with a ton of sauce. Also, I pan fried my chicken with Wegman's pan searing flour.
Chicken with wild mushroom and balsamic cream sauce
Salt
1/2 pound orzo pasta
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
Pepper
2 tablespoons butter
12 cremini or baby portobello mushrooms, sliced
12 shiitake mushrooms, stems removed and sliced
12 white mushrooms, sliced
2 large cloves garlic, chopped
1 tablespoon thyme leaves, a couple of sprigs, chopped
2 large shallots, thinly sliced
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups chicken stock
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar, eyeball it
3 tablespoons heavy cream or half-and-half, a couple turns of the pan
1/4 cup chopped flat-leaf parsley, a generous handful
Heat a large pot of water to a boil. Salt the water and add orzo pasta. Cook to al dente.Preheat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat and add extra-virgin olive oil, 2 turns of the pan.
Season chicken liberally with salt and pepper and add to the hot skillet. Cook the chicken for 5 to 6 minutes on each side. Remove the chicken from the pan and cover with foil to keep warm.
Return the skillet to the heat, turn heat back a bit, and add the butter. Once the butter melts add the mushrooms and brown stirring occasionally for about 4 to 5 minutes. Once the mushrooms are brown season with salt and pepper then add the garlic, thyme and shallots.Cook stirring occasionally for about 2 minutes or until the shallots are wilted. Sprinkle the flour into the pan and cook 2 minutes more. Whisk in the stock, balsamic vinegar and the cream. Turn the heat up to high and simmer for about 2 minutes or until thickened. Slice the chicken on an angle. Add the parsley and the chicken back to the skillet to heat up, about 1 minute.
To serve, pile orzo on dinner plates and top with the sliced chicken and sauce.
Roasted brussel sprouts
Cut sprouts in half, lay cut-side down on a baking sheet brushed with olive oil. Drizzle olive oil over the top (to keep them from getting too crispy) and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Bake at 350 until the cut sides start to brown, about 20 minutes.
What I did differently: I didn't have as many mushrooms as the recipe calls for - I just had a carton of sliced white ones. I cut everything pretty much in half so I wouldn't end up with a ton of sauce. Also, I pan fried my chicken with Wegman's pan searing flour.
Chicken with wild mushroom and balsamic cream sauce
Salt
1/2 pound orzo pasta
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
Pepper
2 tablespoons butter
12 cremini or baby portobello mushrooms, sliced
12 shiitake mushrooms, stems removed and sliced
12 white mushrooms, sliced
2 large cloves garlic, chopped
1 tablespoon thyme leaves, a couple of sprigs, chopped
2 large shallots, thinly sliced
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups chicken stock
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar, eyeball it
3 tablespoons heavy cream or half-and-half, a couple turns of the pan
1/4 cup chopped flat-leaf parsley, a generous handful
Heat a large pot of water to a boil. Salt the water and add orzo pasta. Cook to al dente.Preheat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat and add extra-virgin olive oil, 2 turns of the pan.
Season chicken liberally with salt and pepper and add to the hot skillet. Cook the chicken for 5 to 6 minutes on each side. Remove the chicken from the pan and cover with foil to keep warm.
Return the skillet to the heat, turn heat back a bit, and add the butter. Once the butter melts add the mushrooms and brown stirring occasionally for about 4 to 5 minutes. Once the mushrooms are brown season with salt and pepper then add the garlic, thyme and shallots.Cook stirring occasionally for about 2 minutes or until the shallots are wilted. Sprinkle the flour into the pan and cook 2 minutes more. Whisk in the stock, balsamic vinegar and the cream. Turn the heat up to high and simmer for about 2 minutes or until thickened. Slice the chicken on an angle. Add the parsley and the chicken back to the skillet to heat up, about 1 minute.
To serve, pile orzo on dinner plates and top with the sliced chicken and sauce.
Roasted brussel sprouts
Cut sprouts in half, lay cut-side down on a baking sheet brushed with olive oil. Drizzle olive oil over the top (to keep them from getting too crispy) and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Bake at 350 until the cut sides start to brown, about 20 minutes.
