Monday, August 8, 2011

Chicken Marsala

My husband told me this is one of those meals he could just eat and eat and eat. Some people think this must be hard to make but the fact is it is so easy I don't know why I don't make it more; especially after my family devoured it. My mom used to make this when I was a kid with the addition of mushrooms and baby peas. She'd serve mashed potatoes on the side. Pasta is another good side option. Try removing the chicken to a platter and putting it in the oven (sauce and all) to keep warm. Then without cleaning the pan add a little margarine (if needed) or oil and a chopped shallot. Saute until soft then add a little beef broth. Let it boil down a little and add your cooked pasta and coat well. Finish with a little margarine and fresh parsley. Another option; if you don't keep kosher, is my alfredo sauce  try it with linguine or spaghetti and add a few handfulls of peas (before you add the egg and stir well). If you'd like, some prosciutto would be a nice addition. Speaking of prosciutto, it is also a nice addition to chicken marsala and if you are lucky you may be able to find kosher duck prosciutto. If you do, I hope you'll try it as it is a wonderful treat. If you choose to use mushrooms or prosciutto or both cook them in the pan after you remove the chicken and just b4 adding the marsala. You could also use any white or red wine but then it wouldn't be Chicken Marsala it would be Chicken Some Other Kind of Wine.

You'll need:
2 lbs chicken breasts - I used 8 4oz breasts that I cut in half to make two thinner breasts then pounded gently with the flat side of a meat mallet to get very thin pieces.
Four for dredging
Margarine - I used about 3 tbsp
Olive oil - Also about 3 tbsp but use what you think it best
Marsala wine (Kedem makes a marsala cooking wine and this is what I used last night.)

Melt the margarine (or butter if you don't keep kosher) in a large pan along with the olive oil over medium heat. When it is melted and ready to go dredge your chicken pieces in the flour and place in the pan. Cook until they are lightly browned on both sides and cooked through. This shouldn't take long as they should be very thin. Remove them from the pan as they cook. Do this a few at a time if you like.

When all the chicken is cooked add about 1 cup of the marsala wine to the pan. Scrape the bottom of the pan as the wine bubbles and reduces a bit. Add the chicken back to the pan and coat with the marsala. Now; if you feel this is enough sauce for you and you are serving it right away, fine. BUT, I popped mine in a warm oven while I worked on my pasta dish so I knew I needed more sauce. SO, I poured over some more marsala. I can't say for sure how much I used. I just poured until it looked enough. I then brought the pan up to a hard simmer and the wine got all thick and yummy. I then put it in the oven to keep warm.

That's it. Simple and yummy. I hope you enjoy it as much as we did.

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