Champagne Chicken

I've said it before and I'll say it again; I love cooking with alcohol.  There's always some left over that I get to drink while I cook.  And I just so happened to have picked up some OJ while I was at the grocery store today.  Helloooo, Mimosas!!  I like this dish because it's light and we didn't feel like gluttons afterwards.  I whipped up some angel hair pasta and stuck a bag of Green Giant Valley Fresh Steamers in the microwave (which, by the way, are actually really good!). 

Champagne Chicken
(Recipe adapted from Plain Chicken)

Ingredients:
1/3 cup flour
Kosher salt to taste
Fresh ground black pepper to taste
2 Tbsp grated Parmesan cheese
4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
2 Tbsp olive oil
2 Tbsp butter
1/3 cup dry Champagne (like Andre' California Champagne)
3/4 cup fresh sliced mushrooms
2/3 cup fat free evaporated milk (for a thicker sauce use heavy cream or regular evaporated milk)
1/8 tsp red pepper flakes
1/4 tsp parsley (recipe calls for tarragon, which I did not have)
6 oz angel pair, cooked and drained

Directions:
1) In a small, shallow dish, mix together the flour, salt, pepper, and Parmesan cheese.
2) Rinse chicken breasts in warm water and thoroughly coat in flour mixture.
3) Set oven on warm or low heat (you will need to keep the chicken warm while you prepare the sauce.)
4) Heat olive oil and butter in a heavy skillet on medium heat.
5) Add 2 of the chicken breasts to the skillet without crowding; brown well on each side (about 5-6 minutes per side).
6) Remove chicken from skillet and reserve on an oven-safe plate.
7) Cook remaining chicken breasts and add to plate.
8) Cover plate in foil and place in oven to keep warm.
9) Add champagne and mushrooms to the skillet.
10) Scrape any brown bits with a spatula and reduce sauce by half (or keep simmering until the volume goes down to about half of what you started with).
11) Whisk in evaporated milk, more salt and pepper to taste, red pepper flakes and parsley (or tarragon).
12) Heat until sauce is creamy.
13) Serve chicken and sauce over a bed of angel hair.

Shoooo-ee! I need several of these after all that! (Don't ya just love my redneck wine glass?? The hubs got it for me last Christmas. He knows me all too well.)

The soundtrack:

I listened to some more of my fave albums on vinyl again tonight.  There's something about that nostalgic crackling sound of a record player that I just love!

"The Funeral" - Band of Horses

"Laundry Room" - Avett Brothers

"Slight Figure of Speech" - Avett Brothers

Almost forgot! This dish scored a 4.4 out of 5 on the Hub-O-Meter!