Chicken in Creamy Dijon

This chicken dish is done in the style of many French braises in that the chicken is first browned well and removed and the sauce is then made in the same pan utilizing the caramelized crust created by browning the chicken to make a great base for a sauce, in this case using brandy , mustard and a little cream. It’s really important to take the time to brown the chicken well. This will make the difference between a final dish that tastes good to one that tastes great. The sauce is truly delicious I have added some vegetables in the recipe, you can omit them, and accompany the chicken with white rice.I also prepared the sauce aside in another pan, and then put it all together to finish

Chicken in Creamy Dijon
Ingredients:
6 chicken thighs, seasoned with salt and pepper
12 garlic cloves, peeled
12 sage leaves
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons olive oil
3 tablespoons Dijon Mustard
1/2 cup sliced mushrooms
1/2 cup broccoli
1/2 cup pumpkin cut into small squares
1/2 cup White wine
1/3cup Cognac or brandy
2 cups chicken stock
1/2 cup cream
1 tablespoon all purpose flour
Salt & freshly ground black pepper

Steps:

1. In a large sauté pan (medium / low heat) add the butter and the olive oil, the sage leaves and the garlic cloves.
2. Heat 1 minute and add the chicken
3. First brown the chicken skin side, then turn and brown the other side
4. They will be cooking later so you just want to get the nice gold brown colour now.
5. Heat the chicken stock. Remove the chicken from the pan and all but 2 tablespoons of the fat, add the white wine and the cognac and deglaze the pan, scraping any pieces of meet stuck on the bottom. Let the alcohol evaporate completely, then add the mustard and dissolve in the sauce with a whisk.
6. Add the chicken to the pan , add broccoli, mushrooms, pumpkin and add the hot chicken stock.
7. Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper and let simmer over low heat, covered, for 30 minutes.
   Meanwhile prepare sauce
8. In another pan: Sift the flour and dissolve it in 3 tablespoons of cream using a whisk.
9. Add the remaining cream and whisk. Now add a bit of hot sauce, whisk together very well.
10. Simmer for 2 minutes, whisking to keep whisking so the sauce doesn’t stick to the bottom.
11. Add the sauce to the pan where we have chicken,
12. Let the sauce reduce again to the amount you need, always stirring to a simmer. I like to have about two cups of sauce to serve with the chicken thighs.