Autumn Chicken with Dijon Cider Sauce

You know you're anticipating something delicious when you get out your nicest serving utensils {inspired, possibly, by the three different sets of Thanksgiving Countdown email blasts you've subscribed yourself to} and you actually use them to serve yourself dinner {they're not just a prop}. :)

I know I've made other chicken-apple-cider dishes, but what I love about this one is the sauce. It's thick and creamy, like a good gravy, with a little kick from the Dijon mustard and extra flavor from the sherry, and as it's mostly made with reduced apple cider, low-fat milk and cornstarch {not a buttery roux} you don't even have to feel bad about how good it is.

I made a few changes from the original recipe. Because I've read elsewhere that you shouldn't cook certain things, like mustard, over heat {is that even true?} I stirred it into the sauce at the end instead of toward the beginning. I dredged the chicken in seasoned Wondra flour, instead of all-purpose flour, and found I needed to add a little olive oil {just a tiny splash} to the pan when I was sauteing the chicken instead of relying on the butter left over from the apples. {So instead of 7 grams of fat in a serving, I might have 8 or 9. ;) } Instead of coring the apples and cutting them crosswise into rings, I cut mine in half, sliced out the core, and cut the halves into slices. And, finally, instead of keeping the apples and chicken warm in a low oven while I reheated the sauce, I put them back into the skillet and let everything heat through, gently, together.

Autumn Chicken with Dijon Cider Sauce
adapted from More Healthy Homestyle Cooking
for six servings

For the sauce:
2 cups apple cider
1 1/2 cups low-fat (1%) milk
2 tablespoons cornstarch
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard {more, or less, to taste}
salt and freshly ground black pepper
.  .  .
For the apples:
2 tablespoons butter
two large red-skinned apples, with peel, cored and sliced {see notes above}
. . .
For the chicken:
1/3 cup Wondra flour {or unbleached all-purpose flour}
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
six boneless, skinless chicken breast halves, thin-sliced {thinner than mine were!} or pounded to about 1/4 inch thick
1 tablespoon dry sherry


To make the sauce, bring the cider to a boil in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat and cook for about 15-20 minutes, or until reduced to about 1/2 cup. {This might take longer, and don't worry if the cider 'separates'; it won't matter.} Transfer the cider to a cup and let cool.  Pour the milk into the same saucepan, holding back or spooning out 2 tablespoons.  Mix the 2 tablespoons of milk with the cornstarch in a small cup or ramekin, whisking to dissolve the cornstarch.  Add the cornstarch slurry, salt and pepper to the milk in the saucepan. Cook over medium heat, whisking constantly, until the mixture thickens, about 3 to 5 minutes.  Stir in the reduced cider and cook until the sauce bubbles. Remove from the heat, stir in the mustard, and set the sauce aside.  {If the sauce seems lumpy -- mine was -- you can pour it through a fine sieve, press on the solids, and return the strained sauce to the saucepan.}

To make the apples, melt the butter in a large nonstick skillet. Add the apples in a single layer and cook over medium heat for about 3 minutes on each side, or until they're tender. Gently spoon them onto a plate and tent with foil.  Leave the butter {if there is any} in the skillet for cooking the chicken.

To cook the chicken, combine the flour, salt and pepper on a plate or in a shallow dish. Dredge the chicken on both sides and shake off any excess. Heat the skillet you used for the apples over medium-high heat, adding a little bit of olive oil if the skillet seems very dry. Saute the chicken on both sides until it is golden brown and cooked through.  Place the chicken on the plate with the apples and keep both of them warm.

Add the sherry to the hot skillet. Cook over medium heat for about a minute, scraping up any  browned bits from the bottom of the pan.  Pour the cider sauce back into the skillet and cook for a minute or two to heat it through.  You can either place the chicken and apples back in the sauce to glaze them {I would!} or place a chicken breast on each plate, spoon some apples on each one, and pour the sauce over.