seared chicken in a sage gravy

• boneless skinless chicken breasts
• fresh parsley, chopped fine
• dried sage
• gravy master
• wundra flour
• good quality chicken stock
• dry white wine

Beat the hell out of the chicken with a meat tenderizer, season with a little coarse salt and fresh pepper. Preheat oven to 250 degrees. In a skillet over a medium high flame heat up a swirl or two of olive oil and brown chicken, cooking each side about 3 minutes or until seared. Transfer chicken to a pan in the oven and cover with tin foil. Once all the chicken is cooked, turn heat on pan up to high and add about 1 cup of wine for every 4 breasts that you cooked. Stir constantly with a wooden spoon making sure to scrape any bits of chicken funk from the bottom of the pan (those that have high opinions of their cooking abilities call this "deglazing"). Once reduced (about 5+ minutes), add about a cup of chicken stock and continue the process until that is relatively reduced, add herbs and turn heat off. Add a dash or two of the master, and whisk in wundra (using a silicone whisk- get one if you don't have one) until desired thickness is reached. Season to taste with salt and pepper, pour generously over chicken and serve.

The dish: I've extolled the virtues of using gravy master before; I wouldn't even think of trying to make a gravy without it. This chicken was the main course of our parental dinner and everyone seemed to like it. My sister and her husband stopped by for a pre-dinner visit (I offered for them to stay) with our niece and nephew so we had a full house as this dish came together. The kids were great and nobody seemed to mind that I was pulverizing raw meat in the next room. Thank goodness that all the parents read this blog, otherwise they might not find it so amusing that they had to refrain from eating the hot food in front of them while their son (in-law) leaned in to snap photos. They all learned something that Kim has known for a while; while most of the food you see on these pages tastes pretty good, it's never scalding hot by the time you get to eat it.

chicken with mushroom and parsley gravy

• 4 boneless, skinless, chicken breasts
• 2 cups chicken stock
• 1 cup sliced mushrooms, I used baby bellas
• gravy master
• wondra flour
• fresh flat leaf parsley, chopped

Season chicken with kosher salt and fresh pepper. Add swirl of olive oil to a hot skillet (cast iron works best) and cook chicken through, about 4 minutes each side. Once cooked, place chicken on plate loosely tented with tin foil. Add stock to skillet and reduce heat to medium high stirring frequently with a wooden spoon, after 3 minutes add mushrooms and simmer for 5 minutes. Add two dashes gravy master to the mix and whisk in two healthy shakes of the wondra. Add parsley and more flour as needed. Turn off heat and continue whisking until gravy is correct consistency, spoon over warmed chicken and serve.

The dish: I read an article in the Wall Street Journal awhile back about a chef at some ridiculous restaurant in NY or LA or Tokyo or some such place where a meal probably cost more than most of the cars I've owned in my life, and he had a confession: every sauce and gravy he makes begins with a dash or two of gravy master. He said that he couldn't get the right color or flavor without it. I went right out and bought some and I'll be damned if my next batch of gravy I made wasn't my best. I became a huge proponent of the stuff and Kim even got me a gravy master t-shirt, don't ask me where, she has her sources. The other half of good gravy is using wondra flour, not as exciting as the master but it won't clump.