Roasted Dijon Chicken

Most of this recipe is from Gourmet magazine (March 2008, p.80), but I made a few modifications although, for once, not many. This is a great way to make some slightly different sort of chicken, and I always think that anything with a sauce looks like you've made a fuss, even if it's simple! It takes about 45 minutes, but most of that is cooking time, not prep time.

You will need:
3 lbs chicken, cut into parts (I used all thighs)
olive oil (or cooking oil of your choice)
2 small shallots, thinly sliced
3/4 c. dry white wine (I use Chardonnay)
3/4 c. chicken stock
1/2 cup heavy cream
2 tablespoons prepared Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon finely chopped chives
salt and pepper to taste
Optional: thyme, smoked paprika

• Preheat oven to 450 degrees, put rack in the center.
• Trim chicken of excess fat and skin. Yes, it's low carb, and we don't care about fat, but a lot of excess will just make your sauce greasy. And supermarket chickens tend to come with a LOT of excess fat these days. Pat chicken dry, and sprinkle with salt and pepper. (Optional: if you just use salt and pepper, the chicken is nice but has no particular flavor. Try using some dried thyme or a little smoked paprika, too. Thyme is more... French, I suppose. Paprika adds a little heat and depth of flavor.
• Heat oil in an ovenproof skillet. The original recipe calls for 1 tablespoon; this is not really enough, but you don't want a ton, either, because it will become part of the sauce, so if you end up with excess, drain it off before you roast the chicken (see below). Important: you are going to roast the chicken in the skillet, so pick on that's big enough to lay out all the chicken in one layer. If you don't have one large enough, it's not the end of the world, but all of your chicken will probably not be done at the same time, so you'll have to be careful about this and possibly return some chicken to the oven in a different pan to cook a little longer. Or roast in two pans.
• Brown the chicken in the oil, skin side down first, turning once. It is better to do this in two batches because if you put too much in the pan at once, it steams rather than browning (I have learned the lesson of patience when browning the hard way, sigh!). This takes about 6 minutes, about 3 minutes per side.
• Return all chicken to the pan, skin side up, in one layer if possible (see above). Place in oven and roast until done, about 15-20 minutes. (Invest in a digital meat probe if you don't have one; well worth it!)
• Put chicken on a plate. (Cover if you want to keep it piping hot.)
• Deglaze the pan with the wine (that is, pour in the wine and use it to scrape all the little brown crunchy bits off the bottom). Then add the chicken broth and the shallots, bring to a boil, and simmer until reduced by about half (about 5 minutes depending on how juicy the chicken was).
• Add cream and boil until slightly thickened.
• Strain sauce through a sieve (into a bowl), and whisk in the mustard and chives. TASTE. Add salt and pepper if needed, but a lot of salt comes through from the chicken seasoning, so you probably will not need it. This sauce tastes quite mustardy by itself, but is great on chicken and vegetables.
  
• Serve chicken (with sauce).

This is very good with cauliflower mash and/or vegetables that are good with gravy, like Brussels sprouts.

Carbs: depends on the amount of sauce, but maybe 2 (from the cream and wine). Induction-friendly. Wheat and gluten free.