The 2 Ingredients Lucille Ball Sauteed With Chicken To Create Her Favorite Meal

Chicken is the perfect base for any easy meal. It comes in all kinds of varieties, from ground chicken to chicken wings, and its neutral flavor means you can pair it with just about anything. For an easy, low-effort dinner, just turn to one of Lucille Ball's favorites: sauteed chicken with mushrooms and artichokes.

Mushrooms and artichokes might not sound like a common pairing, but they actually offer nice contrast to the mild chicken. Mushrooms have an earthy, almost nutty flavor, while artichokes have a slightly bitter flavor. In Ball's favorite dish, the chicken gets perfectly pan fried in oil, then removed from the pan, and the mushrooms and artichokes are added. This lets the vegetables cook in the chicken fat, adding even more flavor. Plus, they're sauteed alongside fragrant veggies and flavorful onions and parsley, then paired with white wine for a final dish that's well-rounded, but still easy. If you wanted to make a similar dish at home, you could serve it with a hearty side, such as mashed potatoes, for a filling meal.

There are countless varieties of mushrooms you can purchase, and each has a different flavor and texture to the next. While Ball's original recipe doesn't specify a mushroom type, if you want a basic, sturdy mushroom that holds up well to the oil, choose from varieties such as button, cremini, or maitake mushrooms, all of which are good for sauteing. Maitake mushrooms can be pulled apart before they go in the oil, while the cremini or button mushrooms should be sliced.

As for the artichokes, it's easiest to buy artichoke hearts rather than whole artichokes; it saves you the process of safely peeling and cutting them. You can purchase canned artichoke hearts in water, which are cost-effective, but make sure you pat them dry before adding them to the oil. If they go into the oil with water on them, it could cause the oil to splatter, but also causes the artichokes to steam instead of saute due to the water evaporation. With canned artichokes and sliced mushrooms, Ball's favorite dinner becomes an easy weeknight meal.