Chicken tarragon

There are few things I love more than a creamy sauce, derived from the amalgamation of leftover meat juices, egg yolk and cream, drizzled over delicately braised chicken. Throw in some mushrooms sautéed in butter, and I'm sold. Thus, taking a stab at my mother's super-delicious recipe for chicken tarragon seemed a natural endeavour. David, as always, was up for the challenge of creating one of my favourite dishes from my youth.

Recipe

Serves 2

2 skinless, boneless chicken breasts
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp butter
⅓ cup chopped onion
2 pared carrots, sliced
⅛ cup brandy
½ cup white wine
2 tsp dried tarragon
½ tsp dried chervil leaves
½ cup light cream
1 egg yolk
½ tbsp flour
⅛ lb mushrooms, thinly sliced
1 tbsp butter

Cut the chicken breasts in half. In Dutch oven (or large flameproof casserole), heat oil and butter. Add chicken breasts, sauté, turning on all sides, until brown. then remove from the pan. To the drippings, add onions and carrots and sauté, stirring, about 5 minutes, until golden. Return chicken to the pan; heat. When hot, heat brandy in a ladle and ignite. Add white wine, tarragon and chervil, salt and pepper. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and let simmer for 30 minutes, covered.

Remove chicken from pan and keep warm. Strain drippings and return them to the pan. In a small bowl, combine cream, egg yolk and flour; mix well with a wire whisk. Stir into drippings and bring just to a boil. If sauce seems thick, add more white wine. Meanwhile, sauté mushrooms in hot butter for 5 minutes, until tender. Spoon sauce over chicken, and garnish with mushrooms.

Musings

A few notes on preparation: We didn't have chervil, so we omitted it. Instead of lighting the brandy in a ladle, David poured it into the pan and used it to flambé the chicken.

I have always loved this dish, and David certainly delivered. It was coma-inducing good. The sauce was wonderfully creamy, but surprisingly not too heavy. Love the taste of tarragon, with its sweetness, against the earthiness of the mushrooms. Actually flambéing the chicken in brandy left a nice hint of brandy over the chicken, which complemented the tarragon nicely. David also made some divinely good mashed potatoes (with some extra brie whipped in), which further elevated the meal. The silence at our dinner table, punctuated by the occasional "yum num num", should speak to its degree of tastiness.