This year for New Year’s Eve we’re staying in and I knew I wanted to create a new dish that was as sparkly and bright as the holiday! I wanted to steer away from beef or roasts because, we’ll get our fill of that for Christmas. But I still wanted something fun or on theme!
Then I remembered members in the Cook’s Club talking about champagne turkey (a dish I had never heard of but that is actually quite popular for Thanksgiving) and that’s when I knew I wanted to make crispy chicken with a champagne pan sauce! Served on New Year’s Eve with…champagne! 🍾
I also wanted to do a different side dish because I will be eating my weight in potatoes, in all its forms, for Christmas and Christmas Eve! So I whipped up a wild rice with dried cherries and toasted almonds.
(But to be honest this dish would pair really well with a potato situation so I also give that as an option below!)
Before we dive into the recipe (below!) I’ve put together some helpful tips!
Do I Have to Use Champagne?
You can use any sparkling wine (Champagne, Cava, Prosecco, sparkling wine…).
If you want to have a fancy sparkling wine all to yourself to drink (and not share it with the pan sauce) I would go for this Borrasca for the sauce which is an award-winning Prosecco coming out of Italy but under $15!
If you want a fancy bottle of bubbles to pair with this dish, you cannot go wrong with Veuve Clicquot (a Champagne from Champagne, France) or this Schramsberg Blanc de Blanc coming from California but made using the Champagne method!
Tips for Bringing the Wild Rice Together
The wild rice actually takes about one hour to cook on the stove. So about 90 minutes before you want to eat, I would get this on the stove. While it is simmering on the stove, go ahead and chop the dried cherries (or cranberries) and toast the slivered almonds so you can just throw them in the rice when it comes off the stove!
A note on the rice: wild rice does naturally have a little bit of a bite to it, not hard but just al dente. If you would like it softer, add an extra 1/2 cup of liquid and cook until the liquid is absorbed.
About 30 minutes before the rice is done, I start cooking the chicken!
Tips for Bringing the Chicken & Pan Sauce Together
This dish is very approachable and simple but it does move a little fast so make sure you have all the ingredients for the sauce and chicken out and prepped, ready to go.
To brown the chicken skin, the key is not to crowd the chicken in the pan. I had 8 chicken thighs so I did two batches of 4. The chicken is ready to flip when it easily releases from the pan!
After you brown the chicken skin, the chicken finishes baking in the oven. Once it’s done, if you’re not read to serve, just keep the chicken in the oven with the oven on warm or low heat.
How to Serve It
To serve it I like to add the chicken back to the pan with the sauce and then spoon some of the sauce over the chicken (and I loved the sauce so much I also spooned it on the rice!).
I also served it with a simple arugula salad with a Champagne vinaigrette and it was perfect!
I hope you try this dish to ring in the New Year!
PrintCrispy Chicken with Champagne Pan Sauce
- Yield: 5-6 1x
Ingredients
Crispy Chicken
- 2 lbs bone in, skin on chicken thighs
- 2 tsp kosher salt
- 2 Tbsp butter
- 1 Tbsp olive oil
Champagne Pan Sauce
- 2 shallots, finely chopped
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 cup champagne or dry sparkling wine
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 1 tsp Dijon mustard
- 1 tsp kosher salt
Instructions
Prep the Chicken & Oven
- Preheat your oven to 400°F.
- Thoroughly pat chicken thighs dry with paper towels. Season generously with salt on both sides.
Sear for Crispy Skin
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- Heat olive oil and 2 Tbsp of butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Once the butter is melted, place chicken thighs skin side down and cook without moving for 6-8 minutes, until skin is deeply golden brown and crispy. (The chicken is ready to flip when it easily releases from the pan.)
- Transfer the chicken to a wire-rimmed rack sprayed with oil. Place in oven and cook for 20 minutes.
Make the Champagne Sauce
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- Turn the heat off from under the pan the chicken cooked in. Remove some of the chicken fat until there is just about 2 tablespoons left in the pan. Turn the heat to medium and add the shallots.
- Cook 2 minutes until softened. Add the garlic and saute until fragrant, about 1 minute.
- Slowly pour in the champagne to deglaze, scraping the browned bits off the bottom. Allow the sauce to come to a simmer and reduce the liquid by half, allowing to simmer for about 5 minutes.
- Stir in the heavy cream and Dijon mustard; simmer until slightly thickened.
- Remove chicken from the oven and place on top of the champagne sauce. Serve!
Wild Rice with Dried Cherries and Almonds
- Yield: 5–6 as a side dish 1x
Ingredients
- 2 Tbsp butter
- 1 Tbsp olive oil
- 2 shallots, thinly sliced
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 cup wild rice blend
- 1 tsp kosher salt
- 1 tsp freshly cracked black pepper
- 3 1/2 cups chicken or veggie broth
- 1/2 cup dried cherries or cranberries, chopped
- 1/2 cup sliced almonds, toasted
Instructions
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- In a sauce pan over medium high heat, add butter and oil. Once butter is melted, sauté the shallots until soft, about 3 minutes.
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- Wash your rice under cold water for about 30 seconds. Add the rice to the saute pan and allow to toast for about 2-3 minutes. Add the garlic and saute until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add the salt and pepper. Mix to combine.
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- Add the broth and bring to boil. Turn the heat to medium to reduce to a simmer.
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- Cover the rice and cook 45 minutes until tender, stirring every 15 minutes or so.
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- Remove the lid and turn the heat to medium high to cook for an additional 10 minutes until all the liquid is absorbed.
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- While this cooks, add the almonds to a dry saute pan over medium high heat, toast the almonds for about 5 minutes until lightly toasted and browned.
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- Once the rice is done stir in the cherries and almonds.
Wild Rice will be al dente with a little bit of a bite, not completely soft like a basmati rice, but it the rice is still not tender, add 1/2 cup liquid and allow to cook until the liquid is absorbed.
Arugula Salad with Champagne Vinaigrette Dressing
Ingredients
- 2 Tbsp champagne vinaigrette (or apple cider vinegar)
- 2 tsp Dijon mustard
- 2 tsp honey
- Juice from a wedge of lemon
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- Sprinkle of kosher salt
- Arugula
Instructions
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- Add all of the ingredients, except for the arugula, to a jar with a tight fitting lid. Shake until well combined.
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- Drizzle over arugula (option to add dried cherries or cranberries or additional toasted almonds!).
Get the downloadable grocery list for this menu here (there is an option to swap the wild rice for my mascarpone mashed potatoes!) 👇
I hope you all give this dish a try! It is worth every second you put into it, and it will quickly become your house specialty!
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Bri. This. Was. Incredible. Will definitely make again!!!