1. In a sauce pan combine the shallots, herbs, pepper corns, wine and stock. Bring to a boil and reduce by 2/3rd. Add half and half and reduce by 2/3rd again. Lower heat. Slowly whisk in the butter, a piece or two at a time. Season with salt, pepper and cayenne to taste. Strain and hold in warm bath for service…or you can make this later in the process…while the chicken is finishing in the oven.

In a small saucepan gently saute the chopped sage in the butter. Set aside in a bowl to cool. Add half and half reserve for later use. Using same pan, gently saute (no color, just sweating) shallots and garlic, about 5 minutes, medium heat. Set aside to cool. 3. Place cold* ground meat, cooled shallot/garlic mix and cooled cream/sage mix into a food processor. Add egg white, salt and pepper. Process and pulse until smooth texture is achieved. (Make a fried patty sample to taste mixture and adjust seasoning if needed.)

*Note: You want your ground meat to be nice and chilled when making the stuffing/mousseline. This will make it easier to work with and the butter and cream will stay incorporated. I recommend putting the ground meat in the freezer for 20-30 minutes before using.

Pat dry the chicken breasts. With your index finger create a few “channels” under the skin and slide in two or three whole sage leaves under there. They will infuse the breasts with a beautiful flavor and aroma.  Slice chicken breasts, horizontally across the middle, creating a “pocket” for the meat stuffing. Do not cut all the way through. Start slicing at the thick end and slice toward the ribs. You can use a pastry bag, as Max did, to stuff the breasts, which is more efficient when doing 25 of these at a time, but for home use, just spooning the mix into the pocket would work just fine.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. When breasts are stuffed, season thoroughly, front and back with salt and pepper. Heat a large skillet then add canola or other high heat vegetable oil in the pan. When the oil is just rippling, but not smoking, place two breasts at a time, skin down in the pan and don’t move them! Let them sear to a nice crispy brown, about 3-4 minutes. You can reduce heat slightly after the first minute to insure they don’t burn, but resist the temptation to check and move them for at least the first minute of two. Once you’ve achieved the color and crispness you want, then remove the breasts to a baking dish or sheet pan…skin side up. Finish cooking the chicken through in the oven…depending on the size of the breasts and the amount of stuffing…approx 15-25 minutes.

The best way to test doneness is with a meat thermometer and 165 degrees taken from the center of the meat (not near the bone) is what you are going for. Let the done breasts rest on a rack or plate for 4-5 minutes before plating. Serve on top of a succotash as we did, but a bed of sauteed greens, creamy mashed potatoes or yams, or any number of accompaniments would do just as well. Spoon a moderate amount of the sauce around the chicken and serve. Enjoy!