I love this recipe (thanks Mom!)  It is probably the only main dish I make that does not have garlic, onion or shallot, with the main flavors coming from Swiss cheese and wine, with some earthiness from mushrooms.  A sophisticated flavor combination that my more sophisticate eater (my eldest child) loves but the younger ones are not quite ready for it.  Definitely great for date night, or when you have another couple over for dinner.

Ingredients

2/3 cup Wondra flour

1 tsp paprika

2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp ground black pepper

1 square or rectangular box of mushrooms (baby bella or your favorite)

3 tbsp unsalted butter

1 tbsp canola oil

Cleaned, trimmed boneless skinless chicken (3 breasts)

1/4 cup or so dry sherry

1 cup whole milk

1/4 cup white vermouth

1 cup shredded Emmentaler cheese (or Jarlsberg or Gruyere)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  In a one gallon zip lock bag, pour the Wondra flour, paprika, salt and pepper.  Mix it around to combine the spices evenly.  Take 1 tbs of the seasoned flour mixture out of the bag, and put it aside in a small bowl for later.

Clean the mushrooms by wiping them off with a damp, clean dish towel, then cut them into 1/4″ slices.  Start cleaning the chicken, trimming the fat and then cut into nice bit sized chunks.  When you are almost finished preparing the chicken, turn a medium-high heat under a Dutch oven or large pan with a lid that is oven safe.

Tip:  If you think you will need to cook the chicken in 2 batches, then only put in half the butter and oil for each batch.  If you have a large Dutch oven, put in all the butter and oil, since you should be able to brown all the chicken in one batch.

Shake the chicken in the bag of seasoned flour in batches, so that the chunks all get covered with the flour.  Lay the chicken in the oven/pan once the butter is bubbling.  Brown the chicken on one side, then the other side, then reserve the seared chicken on a plate.

Once all the chicken is seared on both sides, add the mushrooms to the oven/pan.  The brown bits left behind are gold!  Once the mushrooms are browned on one side (remember, don’t salt them until after they are cooked or they will get tough) then dump in the dry sherry to de-glaze those bits of gold.

Let the sherry cook out for 3 minutes, then add back the chicken, pour in the milk and the vermouth.  Sprinkle in the reserved tbsp of seasoned flour, so the sauce will thicken.  Stir it around well and don’t freak out if the milk separates a bit and looks curdled.  Hang in there, it looks beautiful after it cooks for a while.

Put the oven/pan into the oven for 25 minutes.  Open the lid, stir, add the Swiss cheese evenly all over the top, then cook for 5 more minutes without the lid.

Best served with rice to soak up the sauce, and string beans as a crunchy element