Chicken au Champagne

Chicken au Champagne

Ingredients
4 chicken breasts (with skin and bone)
1 cup Champagne (Veuve Clicquot Yellow Label Brut recommended)
Salt and freshly ground pepper
1 shallot, quartered
Chervil, tarragon, or thyme (optional)
Cooked brown rice for serving

Yield: 4 Servings
Directions
1. Place the chicken breasts in a roasting pan and season them. Pour 1/2 cup of the Champagne over the breasts. Make a slit in each breast and insert a piece of shallot.
2. Place the pan under the broiler, skin side down, for 3 minutes, until the skin is nicely browned. Turn and broil the other side for 5 minutes.
3. Remove the chicken from the broiler, baste with the pan juices, and add the remaining 1/2 cup Champagne. Add additional herb, if using. Adjust the oven temperature to 475 degrees and bake the chicken for 30 minutes, basting once or twice.
4. Serve over brown rice. Pour the cooking juices from the chicken over the meat and rice. Serve the remainder of the bottle of Champagne (about 6 glasses) with the meal.