Chicken Garlic Cream Sauce

2 boneless chicken breasts, pounded 1/4″ thick
2 cups sliced mushrooms
1 tablespoon butter
olive oil
roasted garlic cream sauce (recipe below)

Prepare the garlic cream sauce.

In a saute pan, add the butter and saute the mushrooms until tender and lightly browned.

Using a preheated grill or grill-pan, cook the chicken for about 2-3 minutes on each side or until cooked through.

Transfer the chicken to a plate and place the sliced mushrooms on top.  Then top with a generous amount of the garlic cream sauce.

Serves 2-4

Roasted Garlic Cream Sauce:

1 head garlic
Olive oil
Salt
Pepper
1 cup milk
2/3 cup half and half
1/2 cup chicken broth
1 teaspoons salt
1/4 teaspoon dry thyme
1/4 teaspoon Italian seasoning
1/8 teaspoon black pepper
1 3/4 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 1/3 tablespoons flour
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese (or Parmesan-Romano blend)

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Cut the top off of the head of garlic, drizzle with olive oil and season with a pinch of salt and pepper, then wrap each head tightly in a small piece of foil and roast for 35-40 minutes.

While garlic is roasting, add the milk, half and half, chicken broth, salt, thyme, Italian seasoning and black pepper to a medium pot, and whisk to blend; place the pot over medium-high heat, and bring to the simmer; once it simmers for a moment, turn the heat off.

Place another medium pot over medium-low heat, and add in the butter; once the butter is melted, add in the flour and stir to completely combine, to create the “roux”.  Cook this roux for about 1 minute, to cook out the raw flour flavor.

Next, slowly pour the milk/half and half mixture into the roux, whisking constantly to avoid any lumps from forming, until all of it is added; allow this cream sauce to gently simmer for about 2 minutes, until it thickens slightly, and then turn the heat off.

Add in the grated Parmesan cheese and whisk well to completely melt the cheese in and distribute it. Check the seasoning to see if you need any additional salt. Keep the sauce warm until the garlic is finished roasting. If the sauce seems a bit thick, you can thin it out by whisking in a little additional chicken broth.

Once the garlic head is roasted, allow it to cool just enough to handle them; squeeze all of the soft garlic from the cloves and chop, or use a fork, to make it into a paste, and then add this garlic “paste” into the cream sauce and whisk well to incorporate it into the cream sauce. Set aside and keep warm until ready to serve.