12 Sage Leaves Chicken

How we make it.

2 tablespoons olive oil
4 or 5 thin chicken breasts cutlets
1 cup flour
2 teaspoons kosher salt, divided
1/2 teaspoon black pepper

2 cups cremini mushrooms, sliced
2 cups shiitake mushrooms, sliced
2 shallots, minced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon butter
12 fresh sage leaves
1/2 cup Port
1/2 cup chicken stock
1/4 cup creme fraiche

Heat a large pan or braiser to medium high and add olive oil. In a shallow dish mix together flour and a teaspoon of salt. Season chicken cutlets to taste with salt and pepper and dredge through flour, lightly coating. Add flour coated cutlets to the hot oil. Also add 3 sage leaves to fry. Brown for 3 minutes on one side, flip and brown another 3 minutes, turning down the heat if you notice burning. Remove chicken from pan (leave sage leaves) and set aside. Add butter to the pan, then mushrooms, shallots, a teaspoon of salt, a half teaspoon of pepper and 3 more sage leaves. Cook for 2-3 minutes and then add garlic, cooking a minute more. Add port, scraping up brown bits from the bottom of the pan and let cook for 2 minutes while alcohol cooks off. Add chicken stock and 3 more sage leaves, stirring to combine and bringing to a boil. Let boil for 4 minutes to reduce down a bit. Lower heat to medium low. Stir in creme fraiche and 3 more sage leaves. Add chicken back into the pan, nestling down into the sauce. Reduce heat to low and let simmer for 15 minutes uncovered on the stove top to cook chicken through and let sauce reduce. Serve warm with crusty bread to sop up the sauce. Refrigerates and reheats beautifully as well.

Why we make it.

When I was a tender shoot of a cook I was hung up on savory chicken dishes with cream finished herb sauces. No one made these for me. I just thought about them a lot. I tried to make one again and again. They were always wrong. The chicken breasts were too thick. The cream to stock ratio was way off. I was too heavy handed with the Rosemary. I know all this now. I also now know the secret I was missing. If you want to make a truly sumptuous chicken dish, one that tastes like a memory without being one, the secret is Port. Port is a Portuguese fortified wine. It's like sherry or marsala, just better. It tastes like Thanksgiving, (and you're going to find out soon how much I love Thanksgiving). This 12 Sage Leaves Chicken has the kind of sauce you'll want to drink. I don't have the words, but know that it makes me emotional. Just make it. Get some good bread and don't worry about a vegetable. Think of me when you do it.