In The Kitchen With Sheri

Mar 11, 2011
2008 Jean-Paul Brun Domaine des Terres Dorées Beaujolais Blanc

My mom makes this chicken dish that I consider her signature dish. Growing up I remember eating it a least once every 2 weeks and it was her go-to recipe any time she needed to take a meal to a friend. Several years ago when I had to take dinner to a friend who had recently had a baby, I was trying to come up with something to make and it occurred to me that my mom’s chicken dish was the perfect thing. Ever since then it has been a staple in my house too (and a go-to dish to take to my friends who have become new moms).

I have made a few tweaks to the recipe that my mom gave me (which she thinks she originally got from either Family Circle or Woman’s Day magazine) and I think that it will be just the thing to serve with the Jean-Paul Brun Beaujolais Blanc tonight. Chardonnay is a terrific pairing with chicken and the ripe golden apple flavors of the wine will go very nicely with the roasted vegetables in this dish. And best of all, not only is this a super easy dish to make, but it is fairly healthy and a complete meal all in one dish (gotta love the clean up for that!).

So here’s what you do:

Warm your oven to 350°. Combine a tablespoon of butter and olive oil in the bottom of a large roasting pan or a 9″x13″ baking pan. Then, I add a teaspoon or two of minced garlic (I keep a big jar of minced garlic in the fridge and it works perfectly in this kind of dish), a few dashes of TABASCO® sauce, and then a few teaspoons of different herbs. You can use fresh if you like, but I typically use dried herbs since I almost always have those on hand. I like to use a mixture of dried oregano, dried thyme and a little bit of McCormick’s Poultry Seasoning. The combinations here are really endless. Put the pan in the oven and let the mixture bake for a few minutes (you want the butter to melt). Take the pan out of the oven and swirl the mixture around.

Next, I season 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts with salt and pepper and then I place them in the pan. Turn them over so that both sides are coated with the butter/olive oil/herb mixture. Then arrange the chicken in the pan. The original recipe calls for using a cut-up chicken, but I have found that it works well to just use chicken breasts. But again, that’s the beauty of this recipe – you can use whatever chicken pieces (drumsticks, thighs, etc) that you like.

Now for the vegetables. I take 2 or 3 zucchini and chop them into large chunks and then put them in a bowl. I then like to add a mix of potatoes and sweet potatoes. Chop those into large chunks as well and add them to the zucchini. You can also add in some chunks of onions and any other root vegetable you like. I usually add a little bit of olive oil, minced garlic and salt and pepper to the bowl, stir up the potato/zucchini mixture and then I spread the veggie mixture over the chicken in the baking dish.

Bake the entire dish for about an hour at 350 degrees. You can “toss” the veggies once or twice if you like, I like some of them to get a bit crispy on the edges, so sometimes I won’t do much to stir things up.

So that’s what I will be serving with the Jean-Paul Brun tonight. I hope that whatever dish you decide to pair with the Beaujolais Blanc is equally delicious! Bon appétit!