Sunday Chicken Revisited

NOTE: Because most boneless chicken breasts these days come without skin, ask your butcher to so it specially, or buy bone-in breasts and bone them yourself.

Preheat the oven to 425'F. Rub the chicken breasts on all sides with butter; sprinkle with salt and pepper. Fold each breast in half, skin side out, stretching the skin as much as possible to cover the meat. Hold the "bundle" together by running through with wooden or metal skewers.

Bake on the rack of a roasting pan for 25-30 minutes, or until an oven thermometer inserted in the thickest part of the chicken registers 155-160'F. Remove to a cutting board. Loosely cover with aluminum foil to keep warm.

Meanwhile, add the broth to the roasting pan. Scrape the pan with a wooden spatula to dissolve the meat juices. Pour this liquid into a fat separator (or a regular measuring cup) and wait a bit for the fat to rise to the top. Pour off (or spoon off) the fat. Pour the defatted liquid into a small pan and bring to a rapid boil. Boil down to 3/4 cup of liquid. Stir in the dissolved cornstarch, and cook until the gravy thickens slightly.

Discard the chicken skin, if you like. Cut each breast diagonally into about eight long, thin slices. Arrange on a platter and pass the gravy separately.