1. Place the chicken breasts in a glass baking dish. Add the lemon juice, 1 1/2 Tb of the oil, and the sage leaves. Turn the chicken to coat evenly, cover, and set aside at room temperature for 30 minutes.

2. Remove the chicken from the marinade and pat dry. Strain the marinade into a small bowl; reserve the sage leaves separately.

3. In a medium skillet, melt the butter in the remaining tablespoon of oil over moderately high heat until hot and bubbly. Add the chicken breasts, smooth side down, and cook until evenly browned, about 5 minutes. Turn the breasts, and season the cooked side generously with salt and pepper. Tuck the reserved sage leaves around the chicken and cook until the chicken is browned on the bottom and just white throughout but still juicy, 5 to 10 minutes more. Do not scorch the sage.

4. Remove the skillet from the heat. Transfer the chicken to a cutting board and season the bottom side with salt and pepper. Slice the chicken breasts on the diagonal into thick slices, and arrange on a warmed serving platter. Place the sage leaves over the chicken. Cover loosely with foil.

5. Discard the fat from the skillet. Heat the skillet over moderately high heat until hot. Add the reserved marinade and stir with a wooden spoon, scraping up the brown bits from the bottom of the pan. The sauce will boil almost immediately. As soon as it reduces to a brown glaze (less than 1 minute)

sage leaves. Can substitute fresh rosemary or fresh tarragon. Can be obtained at most stores Serve with lemon risotto or simple buttered pasta.