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This Recipe Will Hold Your Attention

I had an interesting conversation with a friend last week. We are in the same book club. We meet every five or six weeks at one of our houses. While we don’t have wine, we do have some snacks. We talk about our grown children and our aged parents. About 30 minutes later, we begin our discussion about the book. At the end, we decide when we will meet next, and where, and what we will read. As for that last point, we do not decide whose chance it is to choose; whoever makes the most compelling argument for a particular book, that’s the book we read.

For our upcoming meeting, I didn’t like the book, The Art of Hearing Heartbeats. My friend had chosen the book and when she asked me, I said I didn’t like it and why. “I have tried,” she said, “and I haven’t been able to figure you out.” I thought about it that night and wondered whether anyone really wants to be figured out. When my husband asked me to marry him, I never promised to obey, but told him he would never be bored.

Perhaps that is why I love to write about food for you reading this newspaper. I have a short attention span. I go out to eat, and cook a lot, and get a lot of magazines, and often watch cooking shows on television. I use recipes the first time I cook, but after that I change things up a bit. Sometimes I try recipes that shouldn’t work. Sometimes I am right and sometimes I am wrong. But when I’m right, I want to tell you about it.

I have made this recipe many times because I have figured out that it is sensational, just the way it is. Maybe you will agree.

Lee White of Old Lyme has been a food editor and restaurant reviewer for more than 25 years. You can email her at leeawhite@aol.com.

Chicken with Riesling

from Jean-Georges Vongerichten via Master Cook column, Food and Wine, February 2003

Yield: 4 servings

5 tablespoons unsalted butter

one 3 ½ pound chicken, quartered

salt and freshly ground pepper

1 large shallot, minced

2 tablespoons cognac (or brandy)

1 cup of dry Riesling (or another medium-dry white wine)

6 ounces white mushrooms, sliced ¼ inch thick

1 tablespoon all-purpose flour

⅓ cup heavy cream

1. Melt 2 tablespoons butter in a large skillet. Add chicken, season with salt and pepper, and cook over moderate heat until slightly browned, about 4 minutes per side. Add shallots and cook, stirring, 1 minute. Add cognac and carefully ignite it with a long match. When flames subside, add Riesling, cover, and simmer over low heat until chicken breasts are just cooked, about 25 minutes. Transfer breasts to a large plate and cover with foil. Cover and simmer legs until cooked through, about 10 minutes longer. Transfer to plate.

2. Meanwhile, in a medium skillet, melt 2 tablespoons butter. Add mushrooms, season with salt and pepper, and cook over low heat until liquid evaporates, about 7 minutes. Increase heat to moderate and cook, stirring, until browned, about 3 minutes.

3. In a bowl, blend the flour and the remaining 1 tablespoon of butter. Stir cream into the large skillet; bring to a simmer. Gradually whisk flour paste into cooking liquid and simmer, whisking, until no floury taste remains, about 3 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Return chicken to the skillet, add mushrooms, and briefly reheat.

Serve with noodles, rice, or potatoes; better, even, try risotto.