Tuesday, August 21, 2018

Creamy Chicken Toast – A Recipe and a Reminder

I was watching golf the other day, and the announcer said that great golfers don’t need lessons, they only need reminders, and I immediately thought how well that saying applies to cooking. Well, this creamy chicken toast recipe is both a lesson (aka recipe) and a reminder, and a comforting one at that.

We’ll get to the recipe, but first, the reminder. Sometimes even I forget just how simple it is to make a cream sauce by reducing heavy cream. Almost every “cream sauce” you see is really milk thickened with some type of starch, usually a roux. These sauces are easy, and delicious, and we’ve made hundreds of them, but once in a while it’s nice to have the thing those concoctions are meant to mimic.

If you’re worried this might be too rich for you, keep in mind that by the time we add all the buttery roux to a milk-based sauce, we’re getting pretty close to the fat content of this. So, why not just do this with cream all the time? Cream is way more expensive than milk, and that’s before we reduce it. How much more? You know the old saying…if you have to ask, use milk.

As far as the recipe goes, I loved how this came out, but it begs for adaptation, especially when it comes to which diced veggies to toss in. Just be sure you cooked whatever you're using before you add the cream, since once that reduces, your dish is done, still crunchy vegetables, or not. Besides that, not much can go wrong, and a lot can go right, so I really do hope you give this a try soon. Enjoy!


Ingredients for 2 large portions:
2 small or 1 huge chicken breast (12 ounces)
salt to taste
1 tablespoon butter
thinly sliced green onions (the lighter parts)
diced red bell peppers
diced jalapeno peppers
1/4 cup chicken broth
1 1/2 cups heavy cream
2 tablespoons crème fraiche, optional
1 tablespoon freshly chopped tarragon
2 thick slices of toasted bread

8 comments:

Unknown said...

Hello,this recipe sounds brilliant. It also reminds me of the Hungarian dish called ,paprikas', which would be awesome to see on Food Wishes. :)

Unknown said...

I just made this with homemade chicken broth and dried taragon because that's what I had. I'm going to serve it over toasted ciabatta rolls. The sauce came out utterly delicious. Thanks for the recipe, chef.

Unknown said...

I have been watching your videos for months now. Love your sense of humor and way of explaining so that even I can follow along. This will be the first time I try to make one of your recipes. I am making it for my wife and I this evening. Thanks!

Lisa said...

Amateur chef speaking here, but I thought boiling cream (or any milk product) would make it curdle. I guess my question is... how did you know it wouldn't?

Mr. Kramer said...

Cooked this tonight. Absolutely delicious! Thank you, Chef, for another outstanding recipe! As you suggested, I changed the vegetables to my preference: diced onion, large chunks of bell pepper, thick sliced mushrooms, jalapeños, large chunks of squash, and a little broccoli. I also upped the cream to 2 cups. Everything turned out great; although, I probably should have gone with traditional bread instead of using Chef John's grain-free almond bread. That's on me.

Anonymous said...

Excellent sauce recipes ! Didn't have dates so used prunes instead and came out great.

Poverty Masher said...

I love almost anything creamer and over toast. But I use leftover chicken and have it for lunch. Thanks for reminding me how good this meal is.

wireless headphones said...

I made this creamy recipe tonight for my sons and they loved it! Great recipe!