Poulet Célestine

Monday 14 May
One of the great and simple French country dishes.
Season two chicken breasts with a little kosher salt and brown in a nice hunk of butter (say, 2 TBSP plus a little oil to raise the smoking point of the fat). When you flip them, add about a pound of sliced mushrooms. Sauté till the mushrooms are browned and starting to give off juice. The next step is optional, but fun. Add a glug of cognac, let it warm for 15 seconds, then tip the pan to flambé the cognac. (We were out of cognac—quelle horreur!—and bourbon or rum would not have done.) Then add two chopped up tomatoes, a smidgen of wine (accommodating for the tomatoes and mushrooms giving off more juice), a minced garlic clove (at this point, not in the sauté, for French subtlety), and a pinch of cayenne. Cover and cook for 20 minutes. Remove chicken and mushrooms to hotted-up plates and reduce the sauce. What makes this work so well is the acid of the tomatoes, which cuts the unctuousness of the chicken fat and butter.