Cooking with Gas

One of my Dad's well-thumbed recipe scrapbooks contains the prized method for cooking chicken breasts in brandy. Ever since he plucked it out of some sort of French cuisine magazine in the early 90s, it's been a family favourite. We used to have it with skin on the chicken breasts, which comes up lovely and crispy after the brandy flambé, and we used to use full-fat cream to make the delicious sauce. But in the interests of "health", these days we opt for skinless chicken breasts and light cream.

It still tastes damn delicious.

You start by seasoning chicken breast pieces with salt and pepper, then frying them in a little butter. Keep the cooked pieces warm in a baking dish in the oven, until they're all done. Place all the pieces back in the pan, then heat up your brandy in a ladle - or, if you're like me and don't own a ladle, in a small saucepan.

Then comes the fun part. We turn now, to Girl Clumsy Birdseye Kitchen Cam:

To make the sauce, throw a small tub of cream into the pan after taking the chicken (and tofu if you're also catering for vegetarians who don't mind you cooking in the same pan as tasty animal flesh), and stir it up with the brandy residue. Add in a spoonful of capers, and salt and pepper to season. Stir over low heat until it boils, then pour over the chicken in the baking dish.

Voilà!