Melissa's Chicken Saves the Day

I love to cook, I think you have figured that out by now.

But every once in a while I go thru a cooking slump, when I am just not inspired. I have to feel happy and excited when I cook, it's the creative juices flowing.

If the juices aren't flowing, then there is no food on the table.

Last night was one of those nights. Nothing sounded exciting, and takeout pizza was not an option again.

I decided to see what the fuss was all about with Melissa D'Arabian, the Next Food Network Star. She was cute enough, and certainly perky, let's see how her 4 step chicken holds up to its 5 star rating.

I have never used a recipe for chicken sautes, just add the wine, stock and lemon juice, some garlic and capers and there you have it.

So, it was going to be a different ball game this time, measuring out the cup of stock, the 1/4 cup of wine and the 2 tablespoons of butter.



I made Melissa's 4 Step Chicken. She didn't invent this method of sauteing, however, I like that she named it "4 steps". Because if you always follow this rule, you can make dinner with some liquid, aromatics, protein, and butter. You are set. You have a nice, rich pan sauce for chicken, veal or fish.

I stayed true to her recipe and followed it exactly, sauteing the red onions with fresh thyme leaves. I think the red onions made the dish, they added a nice flavor and pretty pink color.

Maybe there is something to measuring. I guess I will have to try that once in a while!

Melissa D'Arabian's 4 Step Lemon Onion Chicken

4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves, sliced in half crossways (butterflied, cut all the way through) *(I used thinly sliced, boneless breasts)
1 teaspoon dried thyme, plus 1 small bunch fresh thyme, leaves chopped
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
4 tablespoons olive oil
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 red onion, thinly sliced
1/4 cup white wine, optional
1 cup chicken broth
3 lemons, juiced
1 to 2 tablespoons butter

Season chicken with dried thyme and salt and pepper. Heat a large saute pan over medium heat and add the oil. Dredge the chicken in flour, add to the hot oil and saute until cooked through. Set chicken aside to rest on plate tented with foil.

In same saute pan, over low heat, add onions and fresh thyme and cook until aromatic.

In a measuring cup, measure out wine, if using, and broth, and add the lemon juice. Turn the heat up to high, and deglaze the pan with the broth mixture until starting to reduce.

Remove the pan from the heat and finish the sauce by whisking in butter. Season with salt and pepper, to taste.



Oh yeah, and since reading Marie's blog and Christo's blog, I got inspired to make cute Hasselback potatoes too. So, I am not a total dud!



The juices are flowing!