A wine dip

 Image Credit: sergiovisor_ph on Pixabay

    The first page in my food diary, which I started in 2006, I guess, after I secured a good salary job and was thinking of marrying, was a recipe that I saw in the newspaper. In those days, the internet was not so common, and newspaper reading was explicitly practiced. 

    I belong to a small city where hotels were not so very famous and meals usually used to be delicious home-cooked meals. So, after having a secure job and a good earning, I was living in a hostel. The life here was totally different. On one such occasion, our team planned an evening outing to a restaurant. I guess such an outing was the first of its kind for my batchmate and me, the hostellers. 

    Our other colleagues ordered a good starter and soup servings followed by a dinner. As they served, they named the dishes, and one of the chicken preparations was made in red wine. As we both unmarried newcomers have our antennae raised on hearing "red wine." For us, wine means something that carries you to another world. I can recollect every moment of that night when we both gave lame excuses to not have that chicken in red wine. 

    They all tried their best to convince us that the wine used is for flavoring and making the chicken soft, but we were so adamant. On that day, as I gazed down the menu card, I saw many dishes prepared in wines, and I saw people enjoying them all explicitly. I was the only odd one out. 

    This incident made me rethink what I know about wines. I was lucky enough to find one such recipe in the newspaper. It was "Chicken in White Wine Cream Sauce." I will share it here so that those who are good cooks can give it a try. Thereon, my journey with cooking took place, and every day I improve myself in my cooking and also increase my knowledge bank. 

INGREDIENTS

4 boneless chicken breasts

1 cup chopped mushroom

1 cup chopped onions

1 packet cream

3/2 cup white wine

2 teaspoon flour

1 teaspoon tarragon

1/2 teaspoon of salt and a dash of pepper

6 tablespoon butter

METHOD

1. Mix seasoned flour, 1/2 cup of flour, tarragon, salt, and pepper. 

2. Dredge chicken in the flour. 

3. Brown lightly in butter. You can add 1 tablespoon of oil to prevent burning. 

4. Then add mushrooms, onions, and wine.

5. Simmer covered until chicken is done in 25 minutes.

6. Remove chicken from frying pan, leaving onions and mushrooms.

7. In another pan, shake in a tablespoon of flour and then heavy cream.

8. Stir into the drippings in the frying pan.

9. Flavor with tarragon according to your taste.

10. Cook until sauce thickens.

11. Pour over chicken and serve. 

    My outlook towards wine and dine changed after seeing and preparing this dish. I hope you all will also enjoy it. Life changes when you expand your territory. I am still learning this, and it will continue. 

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