Dried Chinese Mushsrooms with Chicken Breasts

Jane, my Chinese sister-in-law, recently returned from Shanghai and brought me three presents: a silk scarf, ten small bags of miniature salted nuts, and a bag of dried mushrooms. Jane only knew the Chinese name for the mushrooms and we left it at that. She said these mushrooms were very flavorful and explained how to cook them. Not to upstage the mushrooms, I decided to serve them with a simple chicken dish.

Menu

Chinese Mushrooms
Sautéd Chicken Breasts
Wine: Perada, 5 Fincas Reserva 2005
Cherry Garcia Ice Cream

Recipe

Dried Chinese Mushrooms (about 1 cup)
Chicken broth to cover
2 teaspoons butter
1 whole chicken breast with skin and bone, split in half and flattened
Dijon mustard to coat
Dried rosemary leaves
Salt and pepper
Olive oil
Chopped parsley for garnish

Following Jane’s instructions, I soaked the mushrooms in warm water for 15 minutes, strained them and discarded the water. Next, I covered the mushrooms with the chicken broth, brought it to a boil, reduced the heat and let simmer for 15 minutes. I drained the mushroom, reserved the broth for future use, and patted the mushrooms to dry. I then sautéd them briefly in butter.

As usual, I had brined the chicken breasts. After patting them dry, I coated the inside of the chicken breasts with Dijon mustard and sprinkled both sides with dried rosemary leaves. In a sauté pan, I browned the skinless chicken breasts in butter for about 7 minutes and did the same for the skin side breasts. I next baked the chicken breasts-- skin-side up-- in the preheated 375 degree taoster oven for 5 minutes, removed the chicken and let rest for 10 minutes. Timing depends stricly on the thickness of the chicken breasts.

I sliced the chicken breasts against the grain and placed the slices on one side of the plate, poured the pan juices over the chicken, and garnished them with chopped parsley. I mounded the mushrooms onto the plate, wiped it clean and served.

The red wine, from the Catalonia region of Spain, was a mystery to me. I figured it might pair well with the equally unknown Chinese mushrooms, and I was right. The flavor of the mushrooms was intense; the wine was equally powerful; the chicken held its own.