A few years ago, while my husband and I were planning our wedding, we went out for dinner near the reception hall we had just chosen for our wedding day.  We both ordered the same chicken entrée because it sounded so delicious.  And it was.  We loved it so much that as I was eating it I thought…I’m going to try to recreate this dish at home.  How hard can it be?

Well, here’s the dish.  And I must say, it’s pretty darn close to the original one we had at the restaurant that night – minus the tons of butter I’m sure they put in it.  It has turned out to be one of our favorite meals.  I named this dish after the town the restaurant is in and every time I make it we are reminded of our wedding and all the planning that went into it.

Hopefully by following this recipe you will have extra sauce leftover once you have eaten all the chicken.  Absolutely do not throw that sauce away.  It is utterly spectacular over pasta.

Here’s what you will need to serve 4….

Recipe

6 thin chicken cutlets (they come butterflied in my store, I usually cut them in 1/2 down the center).

whole wheat flour

4 cloves garlic, smashed

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 box crimini mushrooms, cleaned and sliced (not too thin)

1 12 oz bag of frozen artichoke hearts, slightly defrosted, cut in half lengthwise

1 Tbsp tomato paste

1  7 ounce jar of sun dried tomatoes, drained and sliced, 2-3 tbsp of oil reserved

1/2 – 3/4 cup white wine

3/4 – 1 cup chicken stock, low sodium

1 tsp fresh thyme, chopped

1/3 cup fresh parsley, chopped

Salt & Pepper

Olive oil

1 Tbsp butter, optional

Method

Heat a few tablespoons of olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat.  Add 2 smashed garlic cloves, to season the oil.  Season chicken with salt & pepper and coat in the flour, tapping off excess.  Add some of the chicken to oil, being sure not to overcrowd the pan, cooking them until golden brown on each side.  Remove from skillet and transfer to a plate.  Be careful to watch the cloves of garlic and be sure to remove them once they appear to be getting too golden.  You don’t want them to burn.  Repeat with remaining chicken and smashed garlic.

In the same skillet you just cooked all the chicken in add the oil you reserved from the sun dried tomatoes.  Into that oil add the artichoke hearts and cook, stirring occasionally, for 3-4 minutes.  To the artichokes add the sliced mushrooms and cook for 3-4 minutes, or until they start to soften a bit.  Next, add the tomato paste and garlic and stir into the vegetables, cooking for 2-3 minutes.  At this point I usually add some salt and pepper.  Next comes the liquids…add the wine first, allowing it to simmer for a few minutes.  Finally add the chicken stock and the fresh thyme.  Allow liquids to simmer together for 4-5 minutes.  To thicken this liquid mixture a bit, add approximately 1-2 tablespoons of the leftover whole wheat flour to the skillet, whisking to mix.

Add the chicken cutlets back into the skillet, nestling them all in under the veggies, gently, as best as you can.  Ideally you want most of the chicken to be submerged into the liquid.  It is ok if the tops of a few pieces are not submerged.  If you feel you need a bit more liquid, add some more chicken stock.  Put a cover on the skillet, lower heat to low and gently simmer for 15 – 20 minutes, or until the chicken is cooked through.  Once cooked, turn off heat and add the parsley.  If you so choose, you can also add the butter, just to finish the sauce a bit.  A little tablespoon of butter won’t hurt!

I always serve this over a creamy white bean puree (recipe coming soon!).  However, it would be equally as delicious served over mashed potatoes or white rice.