cooking.nytimes.com
The boneless, skinless chicken breast is as simple to prepare as a burger, nearly as ubiquitous and generally seen as both classier and “healthier.” But in the kitchen, it has two major shortcomings. First, its intrinsic flavor is minimal, more akin to pasta than to even an egg. (An egg is exciting by comparison.) Second, preparing a burger isn’t that simple: unless you’re looking for well done, you have to get the timing just right. In preparing chicken breasts, the cooking time should be just long enough for all but the last traces of pink to vanish — and no longer. The breast can be done in as little as six minutes, for a thinnish one subjected to high heat, or it might take as long as 10 minutes or even a bit more — but never 20, unless you are cooking the thing on a radiator. Overcooking is easy, and the results are predictably undesirable. Here's a simply wonderful way to prepare the humble breast with just a little wine (practically any kind will do) and mushrooms.