Chicken Breasts Nanette

No one seems to know who “Nanette” was, but this recipe has been floating around for years. It appears under this name in the 1959 Gourmet Cookbook, and as “Brandied Chicken Breasts” in the 1975 edition of Joy of Cooking. It disappeared from later editions, like so many other rich and lovely dishes. I think you'll like it.

The chicken breast is the most inexplicably overrated food in the American diet, but the delicate seasonings and silky cream sauce in this recipe turns them into something special.

As ever with chicken breasts, the challenge here is to avoid over-cooking them. The USDA wants you to cook chicken to 165 F to compensate for its chummy “oversight” of the frankly disgusting chicken industry, but white meat at 165 is just plain overcooked. Salmonella is killed nearly instantly at 165, but is effectively killed by slightly longer cooking at lower temperatures. Chicken that reaches 150 (at its deepest part) for about 3 minutes is perfectly safe to eat (and won’t taste like 165 degree shoe-leather).

Note that the original recipe calls for sherry. This recipe showcases the nutty aroma of dry sherry beautifully. Vermouth works perfectly well too.

Ingredients #

Instructions #

Dry the chicken with paper towels, rub them with generous sprinkles of cognac or brandy, and let them stand for 15 minutes. Season them generously with salt, white pepper and ground marjoram.

Preheat the oven to 425 F.

Butter a gratin dish or other oven-proof dish large enough to hold all of the chicken breasts.

Whisk the egg yolk and mix them with the cream.

Mix the grated cheese with the breadcrumbs.

Heat 6 tbsp. of the butter in a large, heavy skillet; when the foam begins to subside, add the chicken breasts. Saute them over medium-high heat, turning them occasionally, until they are lightly browned and tender. Remove the breasts to a plate and keep warm.

Drain all but 1 tbsp. of the fat from the pan, add the remaining tbsp. of butter and return to the heat. When the butter foams, add the sherry and cook, stirring, until the wine is almost evaporated. Pour in the cream & egg yolk mixture in a very gradual stream, stirring continually. Season with salt, white pepper and a dash of nutmeg to taste. When the sauce has thickened slightly, remove from the heat.

In the buttered baking dish, arrange the six toast slices and top each with one with a chicken breast. Pour the sauce over the breasts, and sprinkle the whole dish with the cheese and breadcrumb mixture.

Bake the dish until it is brown and bubbling. Serve immediately.

Variation: Before pouring the sauce over the chicken breasts, top each with a mushroom cap that has been gently cooked and stuffed with seasoned crab meat.