Mushroom Artichoke Chicken

My husband's Aunt gave me some of her old cookbooks a few years back after she discovered I liked to collect and read them.  Some might find reading cookbooks a bit dull, but sitting down with a big book full of nothing but recipes is up there on my list of fun and relaxing things to do.  I lead a thrilling life, I tell ya.

Anyhoo, the exciting part about getting a stack of cookbooks from your husband's Aunt is the variety and uniquness of said cookbooks.  Most of them were vintage and full of character.  One of the titles was The Cotton Country Collection presented by the Junior League of Monroe, Louisianna (circa 1972), where I found this recipe.

Now, I'm not familiar with the Junior Leaugue of Monroe, or any other area, for that matter, but one thing I can tell you is that their collection of recipes in the Cotton Country Cookbook was spectacular.  It was recipe after recipe of food that sounded so good!  I seriously want to make more than half of the book.  And there's 1,100 recipes, so that's saying a lot.

As a lover of mushrooms and artichokes, this recipe called to me and was the first I've made from the collection.  The title in the book is Chicken Jerusalem, but I've renamed it Mushroom Artichoke Chicken, as to be a bit more descriptive.  The chicken was nice and juicy and the rich sauce studded with earthy mushrooms and flavorful artichokes was decadent and delicious.  Thanks, Junior League of Monroe for the recipe and thanks Aunt Diane for the stellar cookbook!

Ingredients

• 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• salt and pepper, to taste
• 4 tbsps butter
• 1 small jar marinated artichoke hearts, drained
• 1 lb mushrooms, sliced
• 1/3 cup sherry
• 1 tbsp lemon juice
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 1 1/2 tbsps chives, chopped
• 3/4 cup sour cream

Instructions

1. Season both sides of the chicken breasts with salt and pepper.  Melt the butter in a large skillet and brown chicken in the butter.  Remove the chicken from the pan and set aside.
2. Add the mushrooms and artichokes to the pan and cook for 3-5 minutes, stirring occasionally.  Add the sherry and lemon juice to the pan.  Return the chicken to the pan and reduce the heat to medium.  Cover and cook for 15 minutes.  Stir in the cream and the chives and cook for 5 more minutes.
3. Remove the chicken to a serving platter.  Stir the sour cream into the skillet.  Pour the sauce over the chicken.

Notes

• I like to slice the chicken on a diagonal before topping with the sauce for a pretty presentation!
• Source: The Cotton Country Collection cookbook.