Poached Stuffed Chicken Breasts

I find it difficult to cook recipes from cookbooks without any pictures.  But James Beard's American Cookery book needed to be opened, so I chose this very approachable recipe.  He wrote that this was his mother's recipe.  It was easy to make, and we especially liked the sauce, which was needed to give it some moisture.

Poached Stuffed Chicken Breasts  (2013 Cookbook Challenge)
Recipe from James Beard's American Cookery
Serves 6

Ingredients:
6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 stick (1/2 cup) butter
3 tablespoons chopped shallots or onions
4 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
1 teaspoon thyme
1/2 tablespoon salt
freshly ground black pepper
chicken broth

Sauce:
3 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons flour
chicken broth from recipe
2 egg yolks, slightly beaten
1 cup cream
1 teaspoon lemon juice
salt and pepper
chopped parsley

Directions:
Cream the butter and stir in the shallots, herbs, salt, and pepper.  Spread a generous amount of butter mixture on one side of each chicken breast and fold over the other half, securing with a toothpick.  Place in a large skillet and just cover with well-seasoned chicken broth.   Bring to a boil and reduce heat to simmer.  Simmer about 12 minutes until done, turning chicken halfway through cooking.  Transfer to a hot platter, and let the chicken broth reduce in the pan over high heat for a little while. 

To make the sauce, melt butter in a saucepan and blend in the flour, cooking and stirring 2-3 minutes.  Strain and stir in 1&1/2 cups of the heated chicken broth and continue stirring until the mixture thickens.   Combine the egg yolks and cream.  Spoon a little of the sauce into the egg mixture to temper, and then stir back into the sauce.  Stir in the lemon juice and season with salt and pepper.  Heat until thickened but do not let boil.  Spoon over the chicken breasts and sprinkle with parsley if desired.