Ad Hoc at Home: Chicken in Tarragon Sauce

Of the three books that I'm cooking my way through, I think I'm enjoying Ad Hoc the most.  Obviously Alinea is fun because of all the cutting edge techniques, but being a self-trained home cook some of those present problems.  In the French Laundry the techniques are simpler but the flavors of some of the dishes hasn't been there for me.  The dishes in Ad Hoc are simple family style dishes and that means I can use these dishes to actually have a family meal with my wife and serve to friends when they come over.

Naturally I started with the chicken breasts.  Boneless, skinless in this case.  From there, I portioned them down a little bit to make sure I had enough for everyone and pounded them thin enough to cook quickly in the pan.

Once the chicken was ready I got the ingredients for the sauce ready which was butter, chicken broth, shallots, tarragon and sauvignon blanc.

I seasoned up the chicken breasts with salt and pepper and put them in a hot sautee pan with oil until gold brown on both sides.

Once the chicken was done I put some of the butter in a dry pan and fried up the shallots.  From there I layered the flavors of the wine, chicken broth and tarragon and reduced the sauce slightly before plating.

So the sauce never got to the thickness I wanted to, but overall it turned out well.  It's always an honor and a privilege to cook for my family and my friends.  Especially those that don't care to spend a ton of time on cooking meals like this on a regular basis.  This one was a hit with everyone in the room.