love for ad hoc

i'm in love with thomas keller's ad hoc at home since the day it came out.  This one is for the home cook.  The recipes in french laundry just aren't recipes that i would make at home.  I don't own it, but I did check it out at the library a few years ago and it was more food porn than anything for me.  i should revisit it again... i also have not had a chance other than thumbing through bouchon at the bookstore, this is definitely a book i should look at soon.  anyways, i instantly fell in love with ad hoc at home and had to have it... i highly recommend this cookbook for anyone wanting to cook great tasting classic homestyle food thats sophisticated and laid back and not high maintenance (if that makes any sense at all). 

everyone raves about the buttermilk fried chicken, i have yet to try it, i need to do some planning for this fried chicken as you have to brine it... everytime i flip through this cookbook, i want to make the fried chicken; however, you have to brine it, and i need dinner now... i have tried several recipes from this book and actually want to cook the entire book, maybe that will be a future project... 

i had this awesome chicken breast that i picked up from the farmers market and needed something great... i flipped through a few books for ideas and decided to try my hand at the sauteed chicken breasts with tarragon last night and fell in love.. its basically sauteed chicken breast with curry and paprika in a tarragon butter sauce, curry and tarragon? really?  yes really, and its phenomenal.... the sauce was amazing and worked really nice with the chicken... the nutty flavor of the butter and the curry worked really well together, it was such a simple way to bring great flavor into something as simple as sauteed chicken breast.. i did have this fantastic piece of chicken breast.  i served it alongside a swiss chard with balsamic and a romaine lettuce with goat cheese that i dressed with some of the tarragon sauce as well.  the romaine and the swiss chard were part of my csa box and needed to be used up as they were showing signs of age

sauteed chicken breasts with tarragon

adapted from thomas keller's ad hoc at home

1 teaspoon smoked paprika

1 teaspoon curry powder

1 large chicken breast, skin on, split into two pieces

kosher salt

canola oil

3 tablespoons unsalted butter

1/4 cup dry white wine

1 cup chicken stock

3/4 tablespoon dried tarragon

freshly ground pepper

mix together smoked paprika and curry powder in a small bowl.  season the chicken breasts on both sides with the mixture.  cover and refrigerate for 2 hours or overnight. 

pound chicken to 1/4 inch thick.

preheat oven to 200`.  season the chicken on both sides with salt  heat a large frying pan on medium high heat with oil.  add chicken and cook for 1 1/2 minutes on each side or until chicken is fully cooked.  transfer to a wire rack set on a half sheet pan and keep warm in the oven.  

melt 1 tablespoon butter over medium high heat.  add in the wine and reduce down by half.  add chicken stock, bring to a boil, and cook until slightly reduced and thickened, about 2 minutes.  stir in the tarragon and remaining 2 tablespoons butter.  add any juices that have accumulated on the half sheet pan (in my case, almost nothing).  season to taste with salt and pepper (i didn't add any salt as the chicken broth was just right). 

serve chicken and pour sauce over it.  

i did bring the the other half of the chicken breast into work for lunch today and it didn't taste nearly as good, probably because i poured the sauce over the chicken in my tupperware the night before, i think most of it was absorbed by the chicken; therefore, it wasn't as flavorful as it was for dinner, but still yummy.  i think the  swiss chard i brought for lunch absorbed some of the butter... the chicken needed more sauce, but my swiss chard was definitely nutty goodness.  

i did find out thomas keller will be at the festival of books in a few weeks at usc, sunday, may 1 at 12:30pm.  would it be silly of me to bring my book and see if he will sign it?  i know its not a book signing, but i missed the williams sonoma signing he did when the book was released, why?  because i was responsible and went to work; however, i did really want to go.  i also do want to go and see noelle carter, an LA Times food writer  talk about her favorite cookbooks... i'm excited because every year i think about going, i always wanted to go and see what its all about, but no one really excites me to push me to go, plus it was always a bit of a drive for me, and this year thomas keller will be there and its close to my house, its free, so yay!