Garlic Roasted Chicken Breast

This recipe is one of my favorite weeknight dishes. It doesn't require a lot of ingredients, effort, or time. I love this recipe particularly because it's a meal for two. It can easily be doubled or tripled for a larger family meal. Just use a bigger pan, and make sure the chicken isn't crowded during the cooking process.
The recipe does call for a dry white wine. I'm usually a sweet wine person, but trust me, you want a dry white wine with this recipe. An inexpensive one will do. I usually use Barefoot Pinot Grigio because it's usually on sale.
Be careful when you remove the pan from the oven and put it back on the burner to make the pan sauce. I will forget that it has been in the oven, grab the handle, and burn myself. I can't tell you how many times I have done this, even though I know better. It's not fun, but will teach you a lesson in home burn care.


Special Equipment
A medium sized oven proof saute pan (or frying pan with a good sized sides). This means no plastic handles, no non-stick coating. Use a regular stainless steel pan.

Ingredients
2 boneless chicken breasts (skin is optional)
1 1/4 tsp rubbed sage
1 1/2 Tbsp olive oil
1 head of garlic, separated into cloves (about 15 pieces)
1/2 cup of dry white wine

Steps:
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. Pull chicken out of package and pat dry with a paper towel.
3. Sprinkle both sides of the chicken with sage, salt, and pepper.
4. Heat the oil in the pan (on the stove top) over medium heat.
5. Add chicken and saute until brown. About 3 minutes per side.
6. In a saucepan, blanch the garlic for about 2 minutes. Rinse under cold water. You can skip this step and continue to the next step if you like. Or instead of blanching, use lightly roasted garlic cloves.
7. Take the garlic cloves and arranged them around the chicken in the saute pan.
8. Poor wine over chicken and garlic.
9. Cover the chicken, place pan in oven, and bake chicken for 10 minutes.
10. Uncover and baste the chicken. Continue baking chicken, without the lid on the pan, for another 8 minutes, or until cooked all the way through.
11. Pull the pan out of the oven. Use tongs to remove chicken and put on plates.
12. Put the pan back on the burner (use hot pads!!) and set it to high. Stir to scrape up any bits that are stuck to the bottom of the pan.
13. Boil the pan juices until it's slightly thickened. About 2 to 3 minutes. Stir often, but don't get over aggressive about it. The liquid will reduce some as it thickens.
14. Taste the sauce. Add salt or pepper if you need more.
15. Spoon over chicken when ready.

The pan sauce the garlic and wine produces is amazing! The original recipe suggests using it as a gravy for mashed potatoes. I tend to roast fingerling potatoes and throw the sauce over them. It's good over broccoli rabe too. Actually, I haven't found anything that this pan sauce isn't good on. If you want to make more sauce, just add more wine during step 12.



Recipe Source: Epicurious.com "Garlic-Roasted Chicken Breasts" Appeared in Bon Appetit, March 1997. http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Garlic-Roasted-Chicken-Breasts-3173