On high heat, brown chicken breasts, skin side down, in half and half butter and corn oil. The chicken breasts have been previously salted with garlic salt, sprinkled on both sides with sage, rosemary and thyme (or use poultry seasoning).
Place the browned chicken breasts in an oven roasting pan. In the still very hot extra-large skillet used for browning the chicken, sear lots of quartered onions, several carrots cut in quarters (or large pieces), several pieces of celery stalks (and a handful of celery leaves) and a few buds of garlic, left whole (they will be very sweet and lose their heavy garlic taste – mash them later). Add a little salt and two cups of cold water, covering the skillet quickly to retain the steam created by adding the water to the hot pan. Turn down the heat and let the vegetables cook for a couple of minutes on high heat, to allow some of the moisture to reduce and the flavours begin to mix.
Add the veggies and the liquid to the roasting pan and place in a preheated 350 F oven for about 35 minutes, or until the chicken is tender and just done. Do not overcook the chicken.
Using tongs, remove the chicken pieces from the roasting pan when done. Place them into a covered dish to keep warm for a few minutes while you make the sauce/gravy.
Place the roasting pan with all the drippings onto the stovetop and let the pan get very hot. Add another cup of cold water. Scrape off the drippings as the liquid reduces by half. Place the vegetables and the sauce into a large bottle blender and liquefy only until coarse (not fine). This combination automatically thickens and makes the best gravy ever. Reheat as required.
This is a perfect way to get children or adults who won’t otherwise eat vegetables to do so. It’s terrific served over old-fashioned mashed potatoes. I had a daughter-in-law who would never eat vegetables unless they were raw. So when she was pregnant, I always made this dinner for her, so she got extra vitamins.
The browned chicken can be added back to the covered skillet, placed on top of the vegetables, and cooked until done, rather than using the oven method if you prefer.
The working title for Carolyne’s Gourmet Recipes cookbook is From Lady Ralston’s Kitchen: A Canadian Contessa Cooks. This kitchen-friendly doyenne has been honoured and referred to as the grande dame of executive real estate in her market area during her 35-year career. She taught gourmet cooking in the mid-70s and wrote a weekly newspaper cooking column, long before gourmet was popular as it is today. Her ebook, Gourmet Cooking – at Home with Carolyne is available here for $5.99 US. Email Carolyne. Scroll down to the comments at each recipe column. Carolyne often adds complimentary “From Lady Ralston’s Kitchen” additional recipes in the Recipes for Realtors Comments section at REM.
