“A chicken in every pot..” is a political slogan familiar to most Americans. Historically, the slogan has been credited to four different presidential candidates. Most often aligned with Herbert Hoover in his 1928 presidential bid. In fact Herbert Hoover never did make this statement. It was a product of the Republican National Committee for a newspaper media blitz in the latter part of his campaign. The slogan was to be representative of prosperity.
Even then the Republicans were not the first to have been known to use this phrase. In 17th century France Henry IV is reported to have wished that each of his peasants would enjoy “a chicken in his pot every Sunday”.
Chicken has now become so plentiful that we can enjoy chicken every day. There are thousands upon thousands of wonderful chicken recipes and no doubt every family has several that are special to them. When purchasing chicken usually the only decisions to be made are whether to buy cut up or whole birds. After that we just need to consider whether those we are serving enjoy white meat or dark meat, or both. In my household my wife and I are fans of dark meat. We do enjoy white meat for things such as sandwiches and dinner entrees such as the following.
When you bring your chicken home there are a few things needed to make sure that your chicken experience will be nothing but positive. First of all, when storing chicken, be sure to keep it in the coldest part of your refrigerator. If you're going to keep it more than 24 hours take a quart sized Ziploc bag, fill it with ice, and place it over your chicken. This will help keep your chicken as close to 32° as possible. Storing your chicken on ice will give you the longest window of opportunity to safely use your bird.
When handling chicken please be sure to use clean hands, a clean cutting board and clean utensils. As soon as you are finished using all of these wash them in hot soapy water and immediately towel dry. It is very important to keep good sanitation when working with chicken. If you do things properly there is no chance for having a problem down the road.
This recipe has been a favorite of mine for many, many years. I enjoy the bright, variety of flavors and textures this meal provides. I hope you enjoy it as much as we have.
Sautéed Chicken Breast with Creamy Horseradish Sauce
Servings: 4
Horseradish Cream Sauce
1/4 cup heavy cream
2 tablespoons mayonnaise
2 tsp Dijon mustard
2 tablespoons horseradish
1/2 tsp lemon juice
1/4 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1/8 tsp salt
1/8 tsp white pepper
Sautéed Chicken Breast
4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp fresh ground black pepper
1 tablespoon butter
2 tablespoons veg oil
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 pound sliced mushrooms
1 cup heavy cream
1 tablespoon dried parsley
Combine all of the ingredients for horseradish sauce, whisk and set aside.
Combine flour, salt and pepper in a large bowl, toss chicken breasts and shake off excess.
Melt butter with oil in large skillet and sauté chicken over medium low heat, being sure not to burn butter, for about five minutes per side, 160° internal temperature. Remove from heat and keep warm.
Turn up heat and add mushrooms to pan and cook for five minutes occasionally stirring, add garlic and cook for 2 to 3 more minutes.
Add horseradish cream sauce and additional cream and bring to a gentle simmer for 4 to 5 minutes. Remove from heat stir in parsley
Place chicken breasts on a bed of wild rice and spoon sauce on top.
Serve with your favorite vegetable.
Tips for the wild rice: Use chicken broth for the liquid as it will impart more flavor than water. A pinch of salt and a tablespoon of butter are also good. If you like, stir in some toasted almond silvers when your wild rice is done cooking. Try mixing equal parts of brown and wild rice for another flavor combination and visual look.
