I love digging through my Grandma’s cookbooks to see the little notes and edits she’s made to the recipes over the years (inside the front cover of the book we borrowed is a note to my Grandmother from sister-in-law, and it’s dated 1967, when she received it as a gift!). When I was home at my parent’s house this weekend, my sister and I decided to borrow an old cookbook from my Grandma and make a family favorite recipe — Chicken Champagne. Her version has those little notes written in the margins of the pages (for example, her version omits the chicken livers, PHEW!), and I’ve adapted it a little bit more to omit some of the hard to find ingredients (like shaved truffles). Excuse the grainy cellphone pictures I took of our version — we were in quite the rush to dig in — it’s far more delicious than it could ever look in a photo! Find the full recipe below:

Processed with VSCOcam with c1 preset 1394975448.660773.IMG_1576 Ingredients:

  • 4-5 boneless chicken breasts, cut up into bite-sized pieces
  • All-purpose flour
  • Jarred mushrooms, drained
  • 1/2 cup of butter
  • 5 thin slices of prosciutto, diced
  • 1/2 cup of heavy cream
  • 1/2 cup of good Champagne (drink a little while you’re cooking too!)
  • Salt and Pepper
  • Serve with angel hair or thin spaghetti  (fresh is best if you can find it, it absorbs the sauce so well)
    1394975452.947924.IMG_1577

Instructions:

  • Toss chicken breast pieces with flour until lightly coated, season with salt and pepper.
  • In a large pan, melt 1/2 cup of butter, and add chicken. Cook chicken in butter until browned.
  • Once chicken is fully browned, add in mushrooms, prosciutto, and heavy cream. Stir to combine and simmer for 5 minutes.
  • Add champagne, stir, and cover for another 10 minutes.
  • Season with additional salt and pepper as needed, and toss with fresh grated parmesan.
  • Serve over fresh pasta with additional parmesan cheese on the side, and don’t forget to pour a glass of champagne to compliment the meal!

Note: The sauce doesn’t reduce as well if you double the recipe, instead, use 2/3 of champagne and cream.