Company-worthy chicken

When my husband turned 40 I surprised him with a trip to Bar Harbor, Maine, and a coupon for all the lobster he could eat.

While Jim seemed to be attempting to break some kind of lobster-eating record (and it wouldn't surprise me if he did), I don't eat seafood, so we needed to find restaurants with a wider variety.

We went to a lot of different restaurants, but the one that stands out most in my mind was one called "George's," where I had a wonderful chicken dish in a tarragon cream sauce. I enjoyed it so much, when we got home, I headed to the kitchen and tried to re-create it.

That was years ago. George's Restaurant is long gone, converted into a private rental cottage, but I still have the recipe for that chicken and some terrific memories of a love affair with Maine that started on that long-ago weekend.

Although this recipe is pretty simple, it's definitely company-worthy.

I recommend serving it with a lightly dressed, crisp green salad and twice-baked potatoes.

Chicken

a la George's

4 chicken cutlets, pounded thin

3 tablespoons butter, divided

2 tablespoons oil

One-quarter cup flour

2 cups mushrooms, sliced

1 cup heavy cream

1 tablespoon spicy, brown mustard

2 teaspoons dried tarragon

Salt and pepper to taste

Dredge chicken breasts in flour, season on both sides with salt and pepper. In a large skillet, melt butter with oil, sauté chicken breasts about 4 minutes on each side. Remove from pan and keep warm. Scrape brown bits from the bottom of the pan and add another tablespoon of butter if needed, then sauté mushrooms. Add cream, mustard, tarragon and salt and pepper to taste.

Cook slowly at low heat until sauce thickens.

Spoon the sauce over the chicken to serve.