Recipe: Easy Chicken with Cream Cheese Pan Sauce - Alabama NewsCenter

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Recipe: Easy Chicken with Cream Cheese Pan Sauce - Alabama NewsCenter

Recipe: Easy Chicken with Cream Cheese Pan Sauce - Alabama NewsCenter

Posted: 27 Mar 2021 10:07 AM PDT

Way back in 2011, I posted this recipe for my Easy Chicken with Cream Cheese Pan Sauce. It was on the regular rotation at our house back then and continues to be today. We probably make it a couple times a month.

This delicious cream cheese sauce is a great way to dress up boring boneless, skinless chicken breasts. And it's easy, too.

But, honestly, this recipe has never gotten the attention it deserves. So I decided to shoot a few new images, update the recipe a touch to make it even easier, and put it back out into the world.

The most challenging thing about this recipe is getting the chicken cooked correctly – but even that's not too hard. You want to get the chicken cooked through without burning the outside. The super-thick chicken breasts from the grocery store won't work the way they come in the package. I suggest taking a sharp knife and slicing each breast in half lengthwise to create two pieces of chicken that are roughly three-quarters to 1 inch thick. If you still find them too thick, put them between two pieces of cling wrap or in a gallon zip-lock bag and pound them thinner with a meat mallet. This will allow them to cook through quicker.

I always recommend an instant-read meat thermometer. Not only does this ensure the chicken is cooked to a safe temperature, but it allows you to cook it right to 165 degrees without going over and causing it to get dry. No one wants dry chicken. And that's the chief complaint I get from folks about using boneless, skinless chicken breasts, so use that thermometer.

And yes, this will also work with boneless chicken thighs. I've also been known to use some of those frozen chicken breasts that you buy in the big bags. Most of the time, those are thin enough to not need to be sliced. Just make sure they're completely thawed before using them.

The seasoning from the chicken, combined with the fond (that's the brown stuff on the bottom of the pan after cooking the chicken), chicken broth, cream cheese and just a hint of mustard creates a decadent sauce that you'll probably want to pour over everything on your plate. At least that's what happens at our house.

Feast on this flavorful dish smothered in a super delicious cream cheese sauce. (Stacey Little/Southern Bite)

Y'all enjoy.

Easy Chicken with Cream Cheese Pan Sauce

Prep time: 15 minutes

Cook time: 20 minutes

Total time: 35 minutes

Serves: 4 to 6

Ingredients

  • 2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts
  • salt
  • pepper
  • garlic powder
  • 3 tablespoons olive oil
  • 2 tablespoons butter
  • 1 cup chicken broth
  • 4 ounces cream cheese, room temperature, cubed
  • 2 teaspoons mustard (dijon, creole or spicy brown)

Instructions

  1. Trim excess fat and then slice the chicken breast in half lengthwise to equal pieces that are roughly 3/4 to 1 inch in thickness.
  2. Season both sides of the chicken with salt, pepper and garlic powder. Set aside.
  3. In a large skillet, heat oil over medium heat.
  4. Cook the chicken (working in batches if necessary) in the skillet until it is cooked through and the internal temperature is 165 degrees. Adjust the heat as necessary to prevent burning and add more oil if needed.
  5. Remove the chicken from the skillet and tent with aluminum foil to keep warm.
  6. Add the butter and melt.
  7. Add the chicken broth to the pan and scrape the bottom of the pan to loosen the cooked-on bits.
  8. Bring the broth to a simmer and add cream cheese. Once melted, whisk together to combine.
  9. Add mustard and continue to simmer until sauce starts to thicken, stirring frequently.
  10. Add salt and pepper to taste.
  11. Once the sauce is thick, return the chicken to the pan and coat with the sauce.
  12. Add more broth if the sauce gets too thick.
  13. Serve immediately.

 This recipe originally appeared on SouthernBite.com. For more great recipes, visit the website or check out "The Southern Bite Cookbook."

From samosas to chicken biryani: Aktar Islam’s recipes for the Holi spring festival - The Guardian

Posted: 27 Mar 2021 12:00 AM PDT

Potato and pea samosa

A popular north Indian street snack of spiced potato in a light nigella pastry.

Prep 15 min
Chill 1 hr
Cook 45 min
Makes 8

For the pastry
300g plain flour, plus extra for dusting
50g butter, melted
½ tsp salt
½ tsp sugar
½ tsp nigella seeds

For the filling
2 large potatoes
2 tbsp corn oil, plus extra for deep-frying
1 tsp cumin seeds
¼ tsp asafoetida (optional)
1 large onion, peeled and coarsely chopped
1 green chilli, finely chopped
2½cm piece fresh ginger, peeled and grated
200g frozen peas
1 tsp ground coriander
½ tsp chilli powder
1 tsp amchoor (AKA mango powder)
½ tsp salt
2 tbsp lemon juice
1 handful fresh coriander leaves

First make the pastry. Put the flour in a bowl, pour in the melted butter, mix to combine, then stir in the salt, sugar and nigella. Add 50-100ml warm water just to bring it together into a soft dough, cover the bowl with a damp cloth and chill for an hour. Take the dough out of the fridge 30 minutes before making the samosas.

Boil the potatoes in their skins for 10 minutes, then drain, peel and cut into 1cm cubes. In a wok or large frying pan, heat the oil on a moderate heat, add the cumin and asafoetida, and cook until the seeds splutter. Add the onion, green chilli and ginger, and saute until the onions go translucent. Add the potatoes and peas, toss to mix, then reduce the heat and add the ground coriander, chilli powder and amchoor. Stir to coat the potatoes evenly, cook for five minutes until they're cooked through, then take off the heat and leave to cool. Once cool, adjust the seasoning and stir in the lemon juice and fresh coriander.

Tear off a golf ball-sized piece of dough and roll out into a 15cm-wide circle. Cut the disc in half and shape each half into a cone. Stuff each cone with a tablespoon of the potato mix, then dampen the ends and pinch together neatly to seal. Repeat with the rest of the dough and filling – you should end up with eight samosas in all.

Heat a pan of corn or rapeseed oil to 150-160C, then deep-fry the samosas, in batches, if need be, and moving them around the pan so they cook evenly, for two to three minutes, until golden. Serve hot, warm or at room temperature.

Chicken biryani

Biryani is the quintessential celebratory dish from the Indian subcontinent, and its roots hail from the royal courts of Persian descent. This is a Hyderabadi version, which is arguably the home of biryani, where it's always served with a spicy aubergine curry and raita.

Prep 15 min
Cook 1 hr 40 min
Serves 6

750g basmati rice
3 tbsp corn oil
6 green cardamom pods
3 cloves
5 cassia leaves
1 large stick cassia bark
10 black peppercorns
4 medium onions, peeled and finely sliced
2 tsp salt
8 chicken legs, thighs and drumsticks separated
3 tsp ground chilli
3 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp ground cumin
½ tsp ground nutmeg
5 garlic cloves, peeled and finely chopped
2½cm piece fresh ginger, peeled and finely chopped
4 tbsp yoghurt, whisked
2 tomatoes, chopped
Juice of 1 lime
1 big pinch garam masala
1 big handful finely chopped mint leaves
1 big handful finely chopped coriander leaves
1 handful dried fried onions (homemade or shop-bought; optional)
150g flour

Wash the rice until the water runs clear, then leave to soak in fresh cold water for 15-20 minutes.

Meanwhile, heat the oil in a large, heavy-based pot, add all the whole spices and leave on a medium heat for five minutes, to infuse. Add the onions and salt, and cook on a low heat for 15 minutes, until soft and lightly caramelised.

Stir in the chicken and cook, stirring occasionally, until evenly browned. Add all the ground spices and 50ml water, and cook, stirring, for two minutes. Add the garlic and ginger, and cook, still stirring, until the oil separates. Add enough boiling water just to submerge the chicken, then cover the pan and leave to simmer slowly for 10 minutes.

Slowly stir in the whisked yoghurt, add the tomatoes and garam masala, cover again and simmer for 20 minutes. Stir in the fresh mint and corianderherbs, then heat the oven to 140C (120C fan)/275F/gas 1.

Drain the soaked rice, stir it into the chicken pot and add enough boiling water just to cover. Add the lime juice, sprinkle with the dried onion, if using, then cover with a tight-fitting lid.

Stir enough warm water into the flour to make a thick dough and use this to seal all around the rim of the lid. Bake for 30 minutes, crack open the lid and check the rice is soft (if not, cover and bake for five minutes more). Fork over the rice and serve from the pot with a simple raita and/or salad and the following aubergine side.

Bagara baingan

The perfect fragrant and spicy accompaniment to any biryani.

Prep 15 min
Cook 40 min
Serves 6

10 baby aubergines – from south Asian food stores and some supermarkets (or use 5 small European aubergines)
Oil, for deep-frying
100g desiccated coconut
1 tbsp coriander seeds, lightly toasted
2 tsp cumin seeds, lightly toasted
2 tsp sesame seeds, lightly toasted
1 tsp Kashmiri chilli powder
¼ tsp ground turmeric
75ml coconut oil
1 tsp salt, or to taste
2 cloves
2 green cardamom pods
5 black peppercorns
1 onion, peeled and finely chopped
1 tsp garlic paste
1 tsp ginger paste
20 curry leaves
1 tbsp tamarind paste
4 tbsp passata
100ml coconut milk
Juice of 1 lime
Fresh coriander leaves, to garnish

Split open the aubergines from root to base, then deep-fry in batches at 180C for two to three minutes, until golden brown. Remove with a slotted spoon and drain flesh side down on kitchen paper.

In a spice grinder or mortar, grind the coconut, coriander, cumin and sesame seeds, chilli powder and turmeric, then add 50ml water and stir to make a paste.

Heat the coconut oil in a wide pan, add half a teaspoon of salt, the cloves, cardamom pods and peppercorns, then stir in the onion and garlic and ginger pastes, and fry, stirring, until the onions are soft and translucent. Add the curry leaves and spice paste, and saute, stirring, until the oil separates.

Add the tamarind paste and passata, followed by the coconut milk and 100ml water, and bring to a low simmer. Add the fried aubergines and simmer in the sauce until tender. Adjust the seasoning with the rest of the salt and lime juice to taste, garnish with coriander leaves and serve.

Aktar Islam is chef/owner of Opheem in Birmingham.


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