Blue Birds

Blue Birds

Serves 4

(America)

Ingredients

4 Skinless, boneless chicken breasts

4 tablespoons of butter

3 tablespoons of flour

1 1/2 cups of milk

1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

1 tablespoon lemon zest

1/8 teaspoon Cayenne pepper

4 ounces of blue cheese

Preparation

1.  Lightly pound chicken breasts and dust with flour.

2.  Sauté the breasts in a heavy skillet in 1 tablespoon of butter until golden brown.

3.  In a sauce pan, over low heat melt the remaining 3 tablespoons of butter and add the 3 tablespoons of flour (make a roux).   Cook the butter and flour mixture about 2 minutes, add the milk and stir constantly until the sauce thickens.

4.  Crumble 2 ½ ounces of the blue cheese, the lemon juice, the lemon zest, and the cayenne pepper into the sauces and stir until blended.  Remove from the heat, taste and adjust seasoning.

5.   Place a chicken breast on each diner's plate, pour ¼ of the sauce over each breast or, for a fancier look, first pour ¼ of the sauce onto the plate then place the chicken breast on top of the sauce and sprinkle the breast with some chopped, fresh Italian flat leaved parsley as a garnish.  Crumble the remaining blue cheese and distribute evenly over each breast.

Next Week's Posting:  Linguine con Vongole Piccante Salsa  (Linguini with Spicy Clam Sauce)