Categories: Living

Cooking: Chicken with Tarragon Cream

One of the challenges I set out for myself this New Year is to cook at home more. I have a pretty decent amount of go to dishes that I can cook, but I want to push myself to expand my repertoire. I want to try to cook twenty-five new dishes this year. Hopefully, I will learn new techniques and be able to save some money by eating at home more often.

The first new recipe I cooked this year: Chicken with Tarragon Cream. I got the recipe from a bargain book called Chicken. Yes, it’s all about chicken.

Ingredients

2 Tbsp Light Olive Oil
4 Skinless Chicken Breasts
3 Shallots, finely chopped
2 Cloves Garlic (Minced)
1 1/2 Cups Fresh Mushrooms (Sliced)
2/3-Cup Dry White Wine
1 1/4 cup Heavy Cream
1/4 Cup Fresh Tarragon

Well, those are supposed to be the ingredients. Winn Dixie didn’t have any fresh tarragon nor did I, so I went with dried tarragon. Also, I used extra-virgin olive oil due to that was what I had. Due to buying Tyson, I had three large breasts that I halved so I really had half a dozen breasts. Except that one of the halves was almost all fat, so I just discarded it before I put it around my waistline.

All prepared before I turned on the stove.

I started cooking the chicken in olive oil until they became golden brown. Then, I turned down the heat and cooked them until they internal temperature was around 140. Putting the chicken aside, I cooked the shallots and garlic making sure I didn’t brown the either. I then added the mushrooms and basically stir-fried them for about 3-4 minutes. I put the chicken back in and added the wine. I let that cook until most, but not all, of the wine evaporated. I finally add the cream, the tarragon, and salt and pepper. I let that cook for a while until the cream thickened some.

What looks like the simpliest part is the hardest…making the mushrooms tender without burning the garlic and the shallots.

Meanwhile, I baked some asparagus (with a little olive oil and Cajun seasoning). I placed the chicken and the asparagus on the plate and spooned sauce over both.

The finished plate

Due to the time, I’m not sure I would cook this mid week again. Also, due to the cream, it’s heavy on the calories. This could be a dish reserved for dinner parties or just a nice stay at home weekend meal.

Kurt Hargis

I'm a husband to a woman who is nerdier than I am, and a father to a near perfect child. I am one of the main authors for this website, plus I handle most of the technical aspects (web design, editing podcasts, and videos, etc.) During the day, I'm a Computer Science and African American Studies Teacher. Most of my free time I'm listening to music or podcasts and watching soccer. I love Star Wars and Star Trek equally. I'm a horrible gamer yet I game. You can reach me at nolanerdcouple@gmail.com

Next Challenging: New Year’s »

Previous « Eating: El Paso on the Bayou

View Comments

Ann says:

January 5, 2013 at 5:51 pm

Next time do the mushrooms first and then add the shallots and garlic. And leave the mushrooms for 3-5 minutes before turning them - do not stir fry them. The results are much better.
Celeste says:

January 5, 2013 at 7:34 am

I have a big tarragon plant in my backyard. You are welcome to have as much as you\'d like!
Danny @ 1227 Foster says:

January 4, 2013 at 3:04 pm

Good for you on your challenge to cook more and try new things! I\'m sure you\'ll succeed and do more than your 25 recipe goal :) Like how this dish sounds -- great flavor and ingredients! Best of luck!
- Kurt says:
  
  January 4, 2013 at 8:06 pm
  
  Really wish I would have had fresh tarragon. I know it would have made it better. We had leftovers and my wife said it was even better the next day...the sauce was thicker.
  - Danny @ 1227 Foster says:
    
    January 4, 2013 at 8:33 pm
    
    I love how some dishes just get better the next day after the flavors have had a chance to settle over night. Bet it was really good.