Chicken Fricassee

I get pretty excited for the weekends. We are pretty strict about our diet during the week and try and watch our calories closely. Let’s be honest though. I mean really really honest. Sometimes you just need some heavy cream and butter. I’m okay with that. My problem previous to this diet was that I “needed” heavy cream and butter 4 times a week. No wonder I got fat. You could probably lighten this dish up quite a bit with a few changes but I chose not to. This is one of my favorite chicken dishes and I really wanted the velvety finish that heavy cream gives to the sauce. So we ate this dish on a Saturday night, heavy cream, butter and all and then I promptly destroyed my husband in a game of Just Dance on Wii. I’m pretty sure the 4 times we danced to “You can’t touch this” worked off all the calories. If that’s what it takes people, I’d dance all night!

I delivered a pan of this to my hairdresser who just had a baby and I received immediate reports that both her husband and toddler licked the plate clean. I think they liked it too. 😉

Try this chicken for yourself! Then dance to MC Hammer and just like that, all will be right in your world.

This dish is made with boneless skinless chicken thighs. My husband doesn’t care for dark meat but he absolutely agrees that dark meat works best here. If you must have chicken breasts, make sure they are thin and adjust your cooking times as necessary.

Chicken Fricassee
Serves 4-6

2 – 2 1/2 lbs Boneless Skinless Chicken Thighs
Kosher Salt and Pepper
1/2 cup of flour, to dust chicken
4 Tablespoons butter (divided)
1/4 cup vegetable oil
2 large shallots, diced (1/2 of a large onion would work here too)
3 cloves of garlic, minced
4 fl. oz white wine
2 cups chicken stock
4 fl. oz heavy cream
1 Bay Leaf
1/2 teaspoon Italian Seasoning

Directions:

Trim off any excess fat from chicken thighs. Sprinkle both sides of each thigh with salt and pepper. Lightly dust with flour (this should be a light coating. I like to pat the flour on and then clap it in my hands to make sure it’s evenly and lightly coated).
Preheat a large skillet with 2 tablespoons of butter and oil over medium heat. Working in batches brown chicken thighs on both sides. It should take about 2-3 minutes per side, more or less depending on your stove. You are only looking for color on the skin, not completely cooking the chicken. Remove thighs to a plate while finishing batches.
Remove oil from pan and carefully wipe out with a paper towel to get out any extra pieces off the bottom of the pan. Heat remaining 2 tablespoons of butter in pan, and add shallots and garlic. Saute over medium heat being careful not to burn the garlic until shallots soften. Add white wine and chicken stock, Italian seasoning and bay leaf. Add chicken thighs and juice from plate into pan. Nestle all the thighs in so that they are mostly flat. Bring to a simmer. Cover and let simmer for 15 minutes. Check for seasonings after 10 minutes. If you are using a base or bouillon for your chicken stock be careful how much salt you add! It will reduce further and the saltiness will intensify. Add cream to pan. Using tongs make sure chicken is well coated with sauce. Allow to simmer with lid off for 5-10 minutes more while sauce reduces. Adjust seasonings. Serve immediately.

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