Quick Pan Sauce Recipe; Picatta Inspired

This is a quick little thing I put together using my non-stick pan instead of my stainless pan. I noticed that the Missus Gonzo had purchased shallots, and we had basil left over from something else, so I thought I'd used some of the cured lemon rinds I made and make a poor-man's, not too realistic picatta.

First I minced the shallot and garlic, seen below with the uncut lemon rind and basil:

Here's the chicken breast, cut in half and dusted with seasoned flour, working in the pan:

Here's the chicken resting next to the minced cured lemon, some chopped basil, and the minced garlic. Behind them is the jar of cured lemon rind:

Here the shallots work in the pan after the chicken's been taken out. You need to work the shallots first, and then add the garlic and lemon. The lemon rind has been cured with salt and lemon juice, which makes it kinda like a picatta flavor. Picatta is generally lemon zest and capers, so you get the sweet mixed with the salty.

Once you let the garlic and lemon bloom in the shallots, you can hit it with some wine, but that's not necessary. To finish the sauce, if you've used wine, let reduce mostly out, and then hit it with some stock, and let it work hard. Now you can either add a tiny pad of butter, but that's also not necessary. Finally, with just a minute or two to go, add the basil, mix it in well, and then return the chicken.

The dusting of flour on the chicken will make the outside of it gooey and more likely to hold the sauce. Flip the chicken at the last second, and plate it.

It'll be pretty and tasty:

Now, this is your basic pan sauce recipe: dusted chicken or pork or veal, nearly finished in the pan, shallots and other aromatics, wine and/or stock, a bit of butter, return the protein, flip and serve. As one of my New York sous-chef's used to say: Delicious, nutritious, and hot.

Jacques Pepin's Quick Brussels Sprouts

Quick may not be the right word, but this recipe is easy enough, and very tasty. I saw it on an segment of Jacques Pepin's show.

These were the Brussels sprouts I picked up, and they were quite large. This may have been a pound-and-a-half. I wanted it to be enough for us and for the missus' lunch the next day.

Start by slicing the sprouts longwise into slivers, after stemming them, of course:

Eventually they filled this stainless bowl: (That's when I realized it would prove plenty.)

Then, the rest: minced garlic and fresh thyme, and four slices of diced bacon:

Start with the bacon in a pan (or pot) that will be able to hold all those sprouts:

As the bacon gets some color, add the garlic and thyme:

Not shown was me deglazing the pan with a quarter-cup of wine. It's not necessary, and since I burned off the liquid it didn't do anything besides flavor the bacon just a little.

Then, once the bacon is sufficiently browned and the fat has been rendered, put in the Brussels sprouts:

My pot filled quickly, but with some stirring the greens will get coated with the rendered bacon fat and begin to brown:

Eventually they brown pretty well, and when they're soft enough, and browned enough, they'll be done and delicious:

And here's an idea for how much that stainless bowl of Brussels sprouts will cook down to:

Good, good stuff.