This light and tasty dish looks timely and complicated, but a simple hand-held mandolin slicer helps you speed right through the the prep-work for a delicious dinner for two. Aside from a mandolin slicer and 2 large frying pans, you will need:

• – 10-12 brussels sprouts
  – 8-10 small red potatoes
  – 5-6 baby bella mushrooms
  – 1/2 yellow onion
  – 1/4 cup fresh peas
  – one sprig of fresh rosemary, stripped & roughly chopped
  – 1 to 2 boneless skinless chicken breast(s)
  – 1/3 cup white wine (any open bottle in the house will do)
  – 2 tbs country mustard
  – 10-12 capers
  – olive oil, for cooking

To get this meal underway it is best to, begin by setting up the mandolin on a thin, but not too thin setting. Think kettle chip vs. lays. Carefully slice the sprouts, potatoes, onion and mushrooms. Place them in individual piles, as they will be added to the hash in layers.

The hash: heat about 2 tbsp. olive oil in a large skillet over high heat, add rosemary and potatoes, toss quickly in oil and then let sit for a couple of minutes. It is important to let the potatoes cook on one side in the oil for a while to brown. (To save time, while the potatoes are browning, slice the chicken breasts as thin as possible into medallions about  the size of 3 fingers apiece.) After a two minutes flip the potatoes over and brown the other side. Add the onions and brusssels sprouts, toss with the potatoes. If necessary, add a little more olive oil to prevent sticking. Cook for about 5 minutes, stirring every now and again.Since the mushrooms and peas do not need a long time to cook, add them right after the chicken is done cooking and before we add the sauce (see below).

While the hash is browning, it’s time to cook the chicken: in a measuring cup, mix together the white wine, mustard and capers, set aside. Heat a couple tbsp. of olive oil over high heat in the second skillet, when it starts popping, add the chicken slices and cook for about 2 minutes and then flip. The chicken will not need a lot of time to cook thoroughly since it is so thin. Cook for 2 minutes on the other side, flip again, and then pour the wine/mustard mixture over the chicken (don’t forget to add the last ingredients to the hash). Toss the chicken about in the sauce for a few minutes, letting it reduce, and then serve on a bed of hash.

A few side notes: Just like foods, I love experimenting with new wines. There are my staple mid-priced bottles I buy time and time again, and then there’s the $15 and under set. Sometimes, when shopping at Astor Wines or Trader Joe’s (great place to buy a $5 bottle for cooking) and I see a promising $8 bottle or a ‘staff pick’ for $12, I’ll pick it up. Sometimes I discover a tasty bargain, other times they’re just not my speed. The later bottles go back into the fridge and become cooking wines.

Also, when making brussels sprout hash, I always try to make a double batch. Heat up the leftovers in the morning and top with a poached egg and you have breakfast perfection in a bowl. Mmmmm.