Chicken Francaise

Tom and Amy came over to my place for dinner a few weeks ago and they asked if I could show them how to make Chicken Francaise. Frankly, I had never made it before, but as always, I thought "How hard can it be?" Well, I found a recipe for it and gave it a try. It was FABULOUS! The sauce was super easy, it was quick to prepare, and it's so flavorful that someone might think you went to a lot of trouble. I think this recipe now falls into the category of "go to" dishes when you want to impress someone. Give it a try!


1 egg, beaten
1 lemon, cut in half
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp paprika
3 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
5 or 6 tbs butter (plus more, if needed)
1 (10.75 ounce) can chicken broth
fresh parsley, chopped
salt and pepper

In a shallow dish or bowl, mix together the egg and juice of 1/2 lemon. In another shallow dish or bowl mix together the flour, garlic powder, and paprika. Slice each piece of chicken breast horizontally so that you have twice as many pieces that are half as thick. Dip chicken breasts in egg mixture, then flour mixture. Shake off excess flour. Heat butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add chicken breasts and saute until golden on each side and almost cooked through. Remove from pan and set aside. Repeat until all chicken is cooked, adding butter if necessary. Add 1 tbs of the seasoned flour and one more pat of butter. Whisk together to make a paste. Add chicken broth. Using a spoon or whisk, scrape up the brown bits from the bottom of the pan. Add juice from the other half of lemon, a handful of chopped parsley, and salt and pepper to taste. Add chicken back to the pan. Reduce heat to medium low and let simmer for about 5 minutes. Serve immediately.

Tip:
The key to this recipe is the freshness that you get from the lemon juice and the parsley. Whatever you do, do NOT use anything but freshly squeezed lemon juice and fresh parsley. Using that stuff in the bottle and also dried parsley just wouldn't cut it.