Chicken Veneziana

One of the biggest challenges for a home cook is to turn a chicken breast into something tasty. By itself, a chicken breast is pretty bland. I am continually on a quest to find recipes that make a lowly chicken breast into something I look forward to eating.

Irina, the young lady who gave me Patsy’s Cookbook says that this is one of her favorite recipes from it.

Of course, as you look at the photo you may wonder, “Where’s the chicken?”. My wife loves sauteed onions, so I doubled up on the onions and the pan sauce. The whole family gave this a two-thumps-up.

Chicken Veneziana

8 oz button mushrooms, sliced
4 chicken breast halves
1/2 cup flour
1 yellow onion
1 cup chicken broth
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons chopped itialian parsley
1/2 cup chopped fresh basil
3/4 teaspoon cornstarch
1/2 cup olive oil

Pound the chicken breasts flat (about 1/2 inch thick). Blanch the mushrooms for 2 minutes and set them aside. Heat the olive oil in a sauté pan over medium-high heat and saute the chicken until lightly browned on both sides. Don’t try to cook the chicken all the way through, just brown it. Then remove it from the pan and set it aside.

Add the onions to the pan and saute until just browned. Return the chicken to the pan. Add the mushrooms. vinegar, chicken broth, and butter. Bring the liquid to a boil and then reduce the heat to low. Cover and simmer for 8-10 minutes, stirring occasionally until the chicken has cooked through. Stir in the parsley and basil and let cook for another minute or so. Remove the chicken from the pan.

Combine the cornstarch with 1/4 cup water, mix well, and whisk into the pan sauce. Let the sauce thinken just a bit then pour it over the chicken.

Salt and pepper the chicken then dredge them in the flour. Heat