Chicken with Mustard Pan Sauce

I made this recipe a few years ago, when I first picked up How to Boil Water, which is a pretty great beginner's cookbook. I wasn't a very good cook at the time, my idea of cooking was heating up from frozen chicken for dinner. I wanted to learn to cook, badly, but I spent very little time trying, so I wasn't good at all. I recall this being a particularly bad dinner that we had. It was bland, it was boring, not tasty at all.

I thought it'd be fun to try to make this dish again, which sounded promising when I first read it, and see if my skills have really improved. I'm pretty sure they had, but I figured this would be a good test, especially since the recipe didn't seem like rocket science. Plus, I'm a big fan of pan sauces these days.

Sorry about the complete lack of pictures, I could have sworn I took some, but apparently I must have forgotten. This whole time change thing is really messing with me! Anyway, this was an easy dish to prepare. I didn't love the flavor, which was my fault (not the recipe) because I didn't have any whole grain mustard just dijon mustard, but Husband thought it was quite tasty, so maybe it's just me.

Chicken with Mustard Pan Sauce
adapted from How to Boil Water

4 boneless chicken breasts, preferably with skin
Salt and pepper, to taste
2 tbsp vegetable oil
1/2 cup white wine or dry white vermouth
1 1/2 cups low-sodium chicken broth
1 tbsp all-purpose flour
2 tbsp water
2 tbsp whole grain mustard
1 tbsp unsalted butter

1. Preheat oven to 350.
2. Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Pat chicken dry with paper towels and season all over with salt and pepper. Add the oil to the hot pan and swirl around to evenly coat. Lay the chicken pieces in the pan, skin side down, and cook without moving them until the skin crisps and browns, about 5 minutes. Flip and cook for another 3 minutes. Transfer chicken to baking dish, skin side up, and bake until cooked through, about 10 minutes.
3. Pour the wine into the hot skillet. Use a wooden spoon to scrape up the browned bits in the bottom of the pan. Boil until almost all the wine evaporates and it gets a little syrupy, about 3 minutes. Add the broth and bring to a boil.
4. Mix the flour and water together to make a thin paste called a slurry. Then whisk the slurry and mustard into the broth and boil until the sauce thickens, 1-2 minutes more. Remove pan from heat. Swirl in butter, to give the sauce a little richness; season with salt and pepper to taste. Add any collected juices from the chicken to the sauce. Put chicken on a plate, pour sauce on top and serve.

NOTE: You can also use 2-4 tbsp heavy cream instead of butter for a cream sauce; skip the slurry, then and just boil until thick. Pork chops can also be cooked this way instead of chicken.

Click here for printable recipe