Chicken Jolie

There's this fantastic restaurant in Florida named Harry's which features New Orleans style food. They've got fantastic cocktails (hello, old fashioned), unique desserts (say no more, Oreo beignets!), and of course, flavorful dishes. My favorite is Chicken Jolie Blonde, a breaded chicken dish served with a grit cake. It's on the heavier side, but the combination of the basil, parmesan, and cream in the sauce are incredible.

I can't say where the history of basil cream sauce lies, as I'd never have guessed it was cajun or creole. But, given the French influence, a cream sauce does make sense.

The thing is, the restaurant isn't out sharing this one, but I did poke around. The first suggestion I found was a simple recipe using mayonnaise, and the second was a cream sauce. I opted to try a cream version first due to my own personal biases against mayonnaise.

My gut tells me, though, that mayo is likely part of this. I went to Harry's in St Augustine many years ago and there's no telling what I ordered. I can say that I got mashed potatoes, and thought they were incredible. The server at the time chatted with us for a few minutes and clued me in that there was mayonnaise in the side dish. I was conflicted at the time by this data point, as I'm sure you've sorted out is due to my previously stated aversion. I don't hate the topping per se, but I generally find the concept of it off-putting, despite the use in so many things and of course, being the main ingredient of a good aioli.

All of that being said, given the mashed potato feature, it wouldn't surprise me at all if the restaurant's version does indeed include it, but I'm completely okay with not knowing that for now. So, cream sauce it is.

Step one was breading the chicken. The recipe I eyed suggested dipping the chicken in milk as opposed to eggs, and I used heavy cream. This was a new breading style for me, and I have to say, it worked very well. To thin out the chicken breasts, I sliced them lengthwise. Pounding the chicken is also an option here.

After dredging the chicken in bread crumbs, I placed it in a hot skillet with melted butter over medium heat.

I let it cook about 5 minutes on each side, and the internal temperature wasn't quite there yet, so I put them on a pan in the oven for about 10-15 minutes to avoid burning the breading. I'd probably slice them a little thinner next time to avoid this.

I used my food processor to grind up some fresh parmesan, only snacking on a few pieces along the way.

Voila, freshly grated parm in just a minute.

After the chicken had cooked on both sides (I made four pieces from 2 chicken breasts), I added garlic to the pan and sautéed in the hot butter for about a minute. Then, I added chicken broth and heat it to a simmer. I mixed in the heavy cream and parmesan, then sprinkled in some fresh chopped basil and pepper.

A star is born!

The end result was a thick, creamy sauce, which I served atop my chicken.

I won't lie to you; I think the best accompaniment for this dish would have been mashed potatoes, but I went with a green veggie this time.

Very simple to make, and very flavorful. 

How did it measure up? I really enjoyed it. I left too much of a gap in the last time I had this dish at the restaurant and making it, but do I think I copied it 100%? No, I don't. But maybe that's okay. I really enjoyed this sauce, and that's what matters. And back to the breading: it held on very well, and was very crispy. I liked the milk method. 10/10, will make again, and maybe next time I'll add some paprika and cayenne pepper? Other things that deviate from the original but I bet would next level this: a little white wine. Be still my heart.

Chicken Jolie Recipe

Ingredients:

1/2 cup milk or half and half

1/2 cup dried Italian bread crumbs

2 chicken breasts

3 tablespoons butter

1 teaspoon minced garlic (1-2 cloves)

1/2 cup chicken broth

1 cup heavy cream

1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1/4 cup chopped fresh basil

1/8 teaspoon black pepper

Instructions:

Place half and half or milk in a large, wide bowl and bread crumbs on a large plate. Using thin chicken breasts (use a tenderizer or slice lengthwise if thick), dip chicken in milk, then dredge in bread crumbs. Heat a large skillet and add butter. Cook chicken for about 5 minutes per side (depending on thickness) then flip. For thicker chicken breasts, heat oven to 350 degrees F and cook for 5-10 minutes, until internal temperature is 165 degrees F. In the same hot skillet, add garlic and sauté for 30 seconds to a minute. Add chicken broth and heat to a simmer, stirring to add any stuck breading from the pan to the sauce. Stir in cream and heat for 1-2 minutes. Lower heat, then stir in parmesan, fresh basil, and pepper and continue cooking and stirring for 3-5 minutes. Serve over chicken with side of choice.

adapted from chicken in basil cream sauce