Recipe(tried): Cooking Class Menu - Buffet Chicken Breasts, Wild Rice with Shiitake Mushrooms

This menu makes a nice Sunday night family get together dinner. I hope you enjoy it.

Buffet Chicken Breasts

2/3 Cup flour
1 t. salt
3/4 t. celery salt
3/4 t. garlic salt
3/4 t. ground nutmeg
8 Chicken Breasts halves, skinned and boned
3 T. unsalted butter
3 T. oil
1 Large green bell pepper cut into strips and blanched
1 Cup celery, peeled and sliced into 1/2 inch pieces, blanched
1 Large can pineapple Tidbits
Additional Pineapple juice
1/2 Cup soy sauce
1-2 T. flour

Mix together the first 5 ingredients. Dredge the chicken pieces in this mixture. Melt the butter and oil in a large skillet. Brown the floured chicken pieces. Oil a baking pan and cover the bottom with the blanched pepper and celery pieces.
Lay the chicken pieces on top. Drain the juice from the pineapple, saving it in a measuring cup.
Add additional pineapple juice to measure 1 cup.
Combine the pineapple juice, soy sauce and 1T. of flour, whisking well. You may need to add a little more flour here, I usually use 1 1-2 T. flour.

Pour this mixture over the chicken. Sprinkle with the pineapple tidbits. Bake uncovered in a 325 degree oven for 1 hour, basting every 15 minutes.

Wild Rice with Shiitake Mushrooms

2 1/2 cups chicken broth
1/2 cup sherry (I use Taylor dry sherry)
1 Cup wild rice, rinsed and drained
5 T. unsalted butter
8 oz. fresh shiitake mushrooms
salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

In medium saucepan, heat broth, sherry and rice to boiling. Reduce heat to low. Cover and simmer for 45 minutes or until liquid has been reduced. Stir in 2 T. unsalted butter.

In large skillet, melt 3 T. butter. Add mushrooms and saute until tender. Stir the mushrooms into the cooked rice. Season with salt and pepper.

Peapods

Clean and remove strings from peapods. Blanch in salted water. Drain well and rinse in cold water.
Before serving, saute in 2T. unsalted butter, just to heat and season. Correct seasonings and serve.