Sauteed Chicken Breasts with Tarragon, Creamed Summer Corn, and Scallion Potato Cakes

I had promised the Buttermilk Fried Chicken for my next post.  I had made the Brine, bought the Chicken, and cut into the pieces and then my fridge went out!  So the brine and chicken went to the trash and I had to opt for something that didn't require so much preparation ahead of time.  I selected the Sauteed Chicken Breasts with Tarragon and I had the ingredients on hand for the Creamed Summer Corn and Scallion Potato Cakes.  I still had some Tarragon in my herb garden so I thought it may be a good time to take advantage before the winter frost hit here in Georgia.

I started out by making a rub for the Chicken Breasts of paprika and curry powder.  After refrigerating for two hours, you then pound the breasts into pretty thin pieces.  After sautéing on each side to a nice golden brown, a sauce is made which included wine, shallots, butter, and tarragon.  The sauce smelled fantastic thanks to the wine , herbs, and shallots.  The chicken also browned to a beautiful golden brown color thanks to the paprika rub.

The finished chicken dish after the sauce and garnish was added...

The creamed corn recipe called for fresh corn cut from the cob that was sauteed and then cooked with a heaping portion of heavy cream, lime juice, and chives.  A little cayenne is also mixed in for heat.  I love corn, it's probably my favorite vegetable so new and different ways to prepare always catch my attention. 

 The corn turned a nice golden color and it really made a beautiful dish.

The scallion potato cakes were the hardest dish to assemble and make.  The recipe called for the potatoes to be shredded using the food processor.  The cakes are assembled with alternating layers of potato and scallions and fried in oil.  The potatoes browned nicely and flipping them to brown the other side wasn't as difficult as the recipe made it sound.

I can say with all of the butter and oil used in these dishes, I had one heck of a mess to clean up after dinner but all three of the dishes looked pretty on the plate.

My husband gave three thumbs up for the first Ad Hoc at Home meal attempt.  The creamed corn was slightly different than the Southern dish we are used to.  The cayenne and chives really gave it more of a Southwestern flavor but the cream did make the dish pretty heavy and rich.  The chicken breasts were cooked to a perfect golden brown and the sauce complimented it nicely.  My husband is not much of a chicken fan so a thumbs up from him on this dish was a big accomplishment.  The potato cakes were crispy and tasty as well.  With all of the cream, butter, and fried stuff I am now signing off my blog and retiring to my stretchy pajama pants...next up we are going a little healthier (and skinnier) with Heirloom Bean and Escarole Soup.