Chicken Marsala

Quite a while ago a bought a bottle of Marsala at I think Cost Plus World Market. It's a really cool place. My express purpose was to come home that day and make Chicken Marsala. That was months ago!! This week my online buddy Susan at Savoring Time in the Kitchen made some and I got remotivated to open that bottle and make my own. Let's just say I have a bad case of Monkey See Monkey Do. Plant a seed in my head and I have a hard time shaking it.

There are a lot of recipes out there, but to make things easier on myself I decided to try the one she used. Emeril usually does a good job. I had to dummy mine up a little bit due to poor planning on my part, but it still came out really tasty. I wasn't sure how Randy would like it because he's not a huge fan of cooking with wine, but he seemed to really enjoy it. And Jigs didn't mind it either! I served it with brussel sprouts and shoestring sweet potatoes.



Chicken Marsala

Recipe Courtesy of Emeril Lagasse (adjusted to accomodate my lack of ingredients and desire to reduce fat)

4 servings

Ingredients

1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon Essence, recipe follows (I used Tony Chachere's Creole Seasoning)
2 (6 to 8-ounce) boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut in halves and pounded thin
1 tablespoon olive oil
4 tablespoons butter (I only used 2 tablespoons - I didn't add the 2 at the end)
3 cups sliced mushrooms (cremini, oyster, shiitake) (Okay, here's where I had to diverge - I thought I had fresh mushrooms, but no dice. So I used 2 cans of sliced buttons. Canned mushrooms are life savers and I'm never without)
3/4 cup Marsala
1 cup chicken stock (1 used 1 cup water & 1 tablespoon chicken base)
Salt and freshly ground black pepper (plus I added some garlic salt)
Chopped chives, for garnish - of course I forgot these....

Directions

In a shallow bowl or plate combine the flour and seasonings and stir to combine thoroughly. Quickly dredge the chicken breast halves in the seasoned flour mixture, shaking to remove any excess flour.

Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat until very hot but not smoking. Add 1 tablespoon of the butter and cook the chicken breasts until golden brown on both sides, about 3 minutes per side. Transfer to a plate and set aside. Add 1 tablespoon of the remaining butter to the pan and add the mushrooms. Cook, stirring frequently, until mushrooms are golden brown around the edges and have given off their liquid. (When I drained the mushrooms I retained some of the liquid since this was mentioned). Add the Marsala wine and bring to a boil, scraping to remove any browned bits from the bottom of the pan. When the wine has reduced by half, add the chicken stock and cook for 3 minutes, or until the sauce has thickened slightly. Lower the heat to medium and return the chicken breasts to the pan and continue to cook until they are cooked through and the sauce has thickened, about 5 to 6 minutes. Swirl in the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter (I skipped this) , add salt and pepper, to taste.

Garnish with chopped chives and serve immediately.

I copied Susan on something else too. She shared her templates for the frames she did on her post. I plopped in some more summer blooms so that we can dream.