Supremes de Volaille Archiduc

Only a handful of unassuming ingredients and this has got to be the best chicken I have ever had in my life!

Julia Child once again amazes me! In english, this recipe is called Chicken Breasts with Paprika, Onions, and Cream.

The chicken was tender, juicy and the sauce.....oooooohmg!!! Fabulous!

I wonder if the chicken breasts she cooked with back then were a lot smaller than the ones we purchase today? The reason I'm curious is because Julia had said to cook the chicken breast in the oven for only 6 minutes. Luckily I used her method of checking for doneness and ended up cooking it much longer. I mean....after 6 minutes, the chicken was still pink on the outside...let alone the inside.

Here's what Julia says about Chicken Breasts (a.k.a. Supremes de Volaille): 'The flesh of a perfectly cooked supreme is white with the faintest pinky blush, its juices run clear yellow and it is definitely juicy.'

And how do we know when it's done? Well....you poke it. With your finger...not a fork!! (you don't want all the juices to run out). If its still soft and yields to the touch, it's not done yet. If the flesh springs back with 'gentle resilience', then it's done. If there's no resilience at all....you've baked the crap out of it and will have a very dry, not so appetizing piece of crap chicken.

Supremes de Volaille Archiduc
Printable Version

Preheat the oven to 400' F
Cut a piece of wax paper, the size of the pan you will be using and butter one side of it.

4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
1/2 teaspoon lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon salt
big pinch of white pepper
1/4 cup chicken stock
1/4 cup dry white vermouth (or port, or Madeira)
1 cup whipping cream
2 tablespoons minced parsley (I didn't have any so I used cilantro)
2/3 cup finely minced white onion
5 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoon paprika
1/8 teaspoon salt
additional salt, pepper and lemon juice if needed

Rub drops of lemon juice onto the chicken then sprinkle with salt and pepper.

Drop the minced onions in boiling water for 1 minute (this creates a more mild flavor for the onion). Drain, rinse under cold water. In a stove-top safe casserole dish (or a large oven safe pan) melt the butter and cook the onions with the 1/8 teaspoon of salt and the paprika, covered, for about 10 minutes over a very low heat. The onions should be tender and translucent. Not brown.

Place the chicken in the onion butter mixture, turning the chicken to coat. Place the buttered wax paper, butter side down, over the chicken. Cover and place in the oven until done.

Julia says to check after 6 minutes. Our chickens these days must be bustier because it took mine about 20  minutes! I'd say check them after 10 or 15....do the finger test and go from there.

Once done, place the chicken on a warming platter (or in my case, a plate covered with tin foil).

Pour the stock and vermouth into the pan that the chicken just came from. Heat to a boil and quickly reduce the liquid over high heat until the liquid is syrupy. (not thick like Mrs. Buttersworth).

Stir in the cream and once again boil down over high heat until the cream has thickened.

Julia doesn't say to stir...but it made me nervous not to, so I did.

Remove from heat. Taste and adjust flavors by adding more lemon juice, salt and pepper if needed.

Pour the sauce over the chicken. Garnish with parsley and serve.

This was so good that I squirreled away a piece for lunch the next day. I reheated it in a microwave and it was still amazingly tender!

I can't wait to have this again!