Friday, September 3, 2010

Chicken Paillard with Garlic Risotto



From Dictionary.com
pail·lard  / [pahy-yahr, pey-] - noun
a scallop, esp. of veal or chicken, that is pounded flat and grilled or sautéed quickly.

I pounded out the chicken between two sheets of wax paper, with a glass. All it takes is 5 or 6 whacks and it's all ready. I just pounded the thicker end of the chicken breast until it was as thin as the other end. (This helps to cook the chicken fast and evenly.)

Then I salted the chicken slightly, dredged it lightly through some flour and placed into a hot saute pan with a tablespoon of garlic-infused olive oil. About 3 minutes on both sides until there's a nice crispy texture to both sides.





While the chicken cooked I started the risotto. Quick steps: butter and garlic-infused olive oil in a deep saute pan, add sliced shallots and saute until tender. Next add the arborio rice, making sure to coat each grain of rice with oil.

Following directions isn't usually my forte... but this time I followed the directions on the back of the arborio rice container.

EXCEPT, I went out on the ledge and added 1/2 cup dry white wine to the rice before starting with the chicken broth. And I'm not going to apologize for THAT rebellion!

Allowing the wine to completely evaporate first, then I started adding the chicken stock. 1/2 cup at a time... until all 3 cups of chicken stock had been soaked up... let the stirring begin!



In the meantime, I grabbed the wine bottle again... this time to deglaze the pan that the chicken had been cooking in. I also added a little bit of chicken stock for deglazing...



Next, I added a little bit of flour to start a roux. After allowing the flour to cook a little, I added the cream and kept whisking. Then I added a little more cream.



Then I added some green onions...



Then I put the chicken back into the sauce to re-warm slightly and coat the chicken.



Next step? Finishing off the risotto and testing it to ensure it was properly cooked and seasoned.



May I present... a wonderful dinner to come back to after a bit of a hiatus in the kitchen. It was a rather nice evening... I love time at home with my hero-of-a-hubby!



Quote of the day...

"The best way to execute French cooking is to get good and loaded and whack the hell out of a chicken. Bon appétit. " — Julia Child


enjoy your time in the kitchen...

3 comments:

Nancy said...

My mouth is watering. But I'm really trying to lay low on the carbs & fats these days. Need to drop a few lbs. Which is hard to do with peaches on my tree and great blueberries @ CostCo! I'll keep this in mind for a splurge night! Sounds so-o-o good! (And you write so well, Lori!)

Lori said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Lori said...

Oh yes, this is a rich dish for sure! Definitely a splurge meal. And so, so, so worth it!

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