Goodbye, Summer; Hello, Fall

By Ben Mims
For Cooking Newbie, a blog for beginner cooks

It’s wonderful when the last waning days of summer are interspersed with cold days that snap you out of your warm weather stupor. I look forward to autumn so much that I welcome as quick an end to summer as possible. And during this season, it’s great to begin cooking slightly heartier fare than fruit-topped salads.

As with most meals I make, I took inspiration from random ingredients in my pantry that I wanted to use in some way before they went bad. This week it was sour cream, and since we also had some egg pasta lingering in the back of the pantry, the idea of making a warm and satisfying meal of stroganoff practically slapped me in the face.

That über-Russian dish of beef strips simmered in a rich sour cream sauce is one of my standbys, and, believe it or not, was my favorite cafeteria lunch dish in grade school. However, since my partner and I are not huge beef eaters, I adapted a basic recipe using chicken breasts instead of pricier sirloin.

The results were strikingly better than I thought they’d be, the lightly caramelized onion and mustard cutting through the creamy sour cream, producing the perfect foil for the tender egg noodles beneath. With a chilly blast of air flowing through our window, it was the perfect dish to ease us into the cooler nights ahead.

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Chicken in Sour Cream Sauce
Serves 4

2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1-1/2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1/4-inch-thick slices
Salt and ground black pepper, to taste
1 small yellow onion, finely chopped
2 tablespoons flour
1 cup chicken stock
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1/3 cup sour cream
Finely chopped parsley, to garnish
Cooked egg noodles, for serving

1. Heat oil in a 12-inch skillet over medium-high heat. Season chicken slices with salt and pepper, and add to skillet; cook, turning occasionally, until just cooked through and lightly browned, about 6 to 8 minutes. Transfer to a plate and set aside.
2. Return skillet to medium heat, and add onion; cook, stirring, until softened and lightly caramelized, about 8 minutes. Add flour, and stir until evenly incorporated; cook, stirring, for 1 minute. Add chicken stock and mustard and bring to a boil, stirring; reduce heat to low and stir in sour cream. Return chicken to skillet and stir until evenly coated in sauce and warmed through, about 2 minutes more.
3. Remove from the heat, sprinkle with parsley, and serve hot over cooked egg noodles.

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