Chicken Au Champagne

I got this delicious and very simple chicken recipe from the book "French Women Don't Get Fat". It uses a little bit of champagne to tenderize and flavor the chicken. I am a champagne fanatic so I was hesitant to "waste" any on the food, but it was well worth it. It is especially good served with mushrooms or onions. I also like to reduce the sauce that is left in the pan down on the stove top and add a little bit of butter and some lemon juice to make a gravy to pour over the top of the chicken. I hope you enjoy!

• Ready In: 45 mins
• Serves: 4

Ingredients

• 4  chicken breasts (with bone and skin)
•  salt
•  fresh ground pepper
•  chervil or  tarragon or  thyme
• 1  shallot, quartered
• 1  cup  Brut champagne

Directions

1. Place the chicken breasts in a roasting pan skin side down and season with salt, pepper, and your choice of herbs. (I like it with both the Thyme and Tarragon).
2. Pour half cup of champagne over breasts.
3. Make a slit in each breast and insert shallot.
4. Place the pan under the broiler for 3 minutes. Flip the chicken breast side up and broil for an additional 5 minutes, or until the skin is nicely browned.
5. Remove the chicken from the broiler, baste with the pan juices and add the remaining half cup champagne.
6. Adjust the oven temp to 475 degrees and bake the chicken for 30 minutes, basting once or twice.