Your favorite pan sauces for sauteed chicken cutlets?

[David M. Bueker]

Lemon and thyme (we don't do tarragon) is a favorite of ours. Always looking for something else. Laura is no fan of mushrooms.

What is a chicken cutlet? I make Chicken Scalopine, using boneless chicken breasts, but it does call for mushrooms.
Chicken Scalopine

4-8 tablespoons butter, divided (butter is important – do not substitute margarine)
12 oz sliced fresh mushrooms
6-8 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, pounded flat to about 1/2 inch
2-3 bunches of thin sliced green onions
1 cup chicken stock (home made, prepared or reconstituted stock is much better than bouillon cubes)
1/2 bottle dry white wine
1 cup heavy or whipping cream
Salt & pepper to taste

1. Melt 2 tablespoons of butter in large non-stick frypan. Sauté mushrooms until tender and any liquid has evaporated for pan; set aside.
2. Turn up heat on burner and melt 2 more tablespoons butter in same frypan. Depending on the heat of the burner, a bit of olive oil can be added to prevent the butter from burning (a hotter frying pan helps with the browning). Cook chicken breasts on both sides until golden brown (this browning is important, as it adds to the color and flavor of the sauce); remove from pan; set aside. Repeat this as necessary, depending on the size of the pan and number of chicken breasts.
3. Add sliced green onions to pan and sauté until tender.
4. Add wine to pan, bring to boil, stirring to de-glaze the pan and dissolve the golden brown crusties that formed when cooking the chicken.
5. Add chicken stock and stir-cook until mixture is reduced by half. Add cream to pan. Cook and stir until slightly thickened. Add salt and pepper to taste. Return mushrooms and chicken to sauce in pan. Reheat to serving temperature.

Serve over pasta (angel hair, spaghetti or linguini).
Accompany with the same or similar wine used to cook with (un-oaked Chardonnay works great with this).
Makes 6 to 8 servings.

NOTE: For reduced fat version, use non-fat cooking spray to cook the onions and chicken, but use 1 Tbsp. butter for the mushrooms. Also substitute 1 can cream of mushroom soup for whipping cream.

A handful of chopped shallots in butter, then a little cream and a little raspberry vinegar.

There are dozens of great ones in Mastering the Art of French Cooking Vol I.

Chicken Piccata is a favorite....I find those boneless, skinless chicken things blah...so anything with bold flavors is nice. They have their place in cooking and I know this, but still blah! Oh, and Chicken Parmesan is nice served with pasta.

[David M. Bueker]

Howie,

I take a boneless, skinless breast and cut it in half thickness. A little pounding to even out thickness and voila.

[Robin Garr]

Go with the flavors of a Kentucky Hot Brown (named for Louisville's Brown Hotel)? The original is a knife-and-fork sandwich of turkey or chicken on toast points covered with Mornay sauce and garnished with bacon ... you could just drop the toast.

Chicken Piccata is a favorite.... .

Thanks for that suggestion. I looked up recipes online, bought the ingredients and will be making it on Thursday.

Some recipes have chicken broth or stock in the sauce, some have white wine instead - I was intending going with wine.

What is your recipe?

Can mole rojo be considered a pan sauce?

Mark Lipton

Can't beat a squeeze of Meyer lemon for a quickie. Love to deglaze with a sweet vermouth or Marsala, almost as quick.

[Jenise]

Oh, and Chicken Parmesan is nice served with pasta.

Suddenly, this is the dish I must have. Fried breaded meat, red sauce, pasta. Need. It. Bad.

[David M. Bueker]

Fried breaded meat

You had me right there...