A couple of weeks ago you posted a recipe for Lemon Chicken. Lemon chicken??? Later in your post you mention your recipe by its true name "Chicken French," yet you do not give the famous Rochesterian dish its due credit by titling the actual recipe Chicken French! As a former resident of Rochester, NY, having been born there and enjoyed my youth in the snowy city, I am very disappointed in you... Granted you were not born there, but you've lived there for quite some time and raised a very happy family there, and I thought that you considered yourself a Rochesterian.
We Rochesterians are a proud people, we shovel lake-effect snow like all good Western New Yorkers and we relish our short lived summers. We still buy Kodak film... well if we needed film we would. We enjoy baking with flour (like our good city used to be famous for producing) and we love our flowers, especially lilacs. And what do we eat besides baked-goods with flour and an occasional garbage plate? We eat Chicken French!
So as a former proud Rochesterian, I present to you my recipe for Chicken French. That delightful local dish from my hometown, that blends pan-fried chicken with a light lemon-white wine sauce. My version isn't completely traditional because I add prosciutto, but that's ok, the addition was completely inspired by one of my favorite little restaurant/bars in town, Lola Bistro. Lola Bistro actually has a special place in my heart, on John's first visit to Rochester I took him to here for dinner, drinks and to see an amazing local band. The band so impressed John that he assumed I had good taste in music, and reportedly "fell in love with me more." (Awwwwe! How cute.) He also fell in love with Chicken French, and when he found out that I could make it, well lets just say the rest is history... (By the way, our dog's name is Lola.)
In the picture below it looks a little like that's raw chicken, its not. That's just the prosciutto. I would highly recommend serving the dish with steamed broccoli, asparagus or sauteed spinach and a starch. Pasta or rice is good, but what's really good is Gruyere mashed potatoes (recipe below).
Also I should mention that I'm not working for the Rochester board of tourism or anything, its just home-town pride! :)
chicken french
(serves two)
2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 cup all-purpose flour
2 tsp. granulated garlic
1 egg, lightly beaten
extra virgin olive oil
2 thin slices of prosciutto
2 tbsp. all-purpose flour
2 tbsp. salted butter
juice from 2-3 large lemons
1/2 cup white wine (like pinot grigio or sauvignon blanc)
salt
fresh ground pepper
fresh lemon slices
In a bowl combine the lemon juice and white wine. Set aside.
In a shallow dish whisk together the flour, granulated garlic and salt and pepper. In another shallow dish mix together the beaten egg and about 2 tbsp. water. Rinse and pat dry the chicken. Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium-medium high heat until oil is hot and shimmering. Dredge the chicken in the flour mixture, then into the egg mixture, and then back again into the flour mixture. Place the chicken in the pan, and cook until its golden brown on one side (about 10 minutes). Flip chicken, and lay one piece of prosciutto over each chicken breast. When the chicken is done (about another 10 minutes) remove from pan and keep warm.
In the same pan over medium heat, combine the 2 tbsp. butter and 2 tbsp. flour stirring until it combines into a dry, crumbly paste. Cook, stirring lightly, 1 minute. Whisk in the lemon juice and white wine. Continue lightly whisking over medium heat until sauce is thick and bubbling. Remove from heat and strain sauce through a fine-mesh sieve to remove any lumps.
Transfer the chicken to the serving plates and pour the sauce over top. Garnish with lemon slices.
cosmo's cooking notes: As mentioned in the post I highly recommend serving this with broccoli, asparagus or spinach, and Gruyere mashed potatoes (or pasta or rice), because the sauce is very good on all of these things as well as the chicken. So when your plating, if you've made any of these side dishes, just go ahead and pour that sauce over everything!
gruyere mashed potatoes
1 lb. yukon gold potatoes, skins on, washed and quartered
2 tbsp. butter
1/2 cup milk (I usually use 2%)
1/4 cup light sour cream
1 cup shredded gruyere cheese (packed lightly)
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
1 clove of garlic, minced
1 tbsp. chopped flat-leaf parsley
salt
fresh ground pepper
Place potatoes in a large pot of salted water, and bring to a boil. Boil until potatoes are soft, and can easily be poked with a fork.
While the potatoes are boiling, in a large bowl put all of the other ingredients. When the potatoes are done remove from the water with a slotted spoon and add to the other ingredients in the large bowl. Mash with a potato masher until desired consistency, add extra milk or butter for additional creaminess, and season with salt and pepper.
cosmo's cooking notes: I always try to make mashed potatoes for two, but it usually ends up being mashed potatoes for twelve. I can never get the portions right, so if my measurements look off, feel free to add or subtract where ever necessary.
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