Chicken in Tarragon Sauce

This recipe is simple, with wonderful flavor -- easy enough to do every night of the week, but so delicious it is perfect for entertaining. Boneless skinless chicken breasts are poached for about 10 minutes in chicken stock and vermouth, with a small chopped onion, a sprig of thyme, two bay leaves, and some salt and pepper. After poaching, the chicken is kept warm while the poaching liquid is reduced, thickened, and small amount of cream is added along with a small amount of chopped tarragon (dried would, I think, be an acceptable substitute if you don't have fresh).

The recipe serves four but I only poached two breasts; however, I made a full recipe of the sauce because experience has taught me that we ALWAYS want more sauce. And this sauce was just lovely, perfectly balanced. Rather than serve the sauce over the whole breast, I sliced the breasts and warmed them in the sauce before serving.

Served with the Piquant Steamed Broccoli with Lemon Sauce and the lemony broccoli was a good match for the creamy chicken.

I do suggest using a genuine French dry vermouth, such as Noilly-Pratt as I agree with Julia Child on this subject -- Italian and American brands can't compare.