Drunken Chicken

Learning is a process, and learning how to cook has been an exciting process—especially when I have an audience (David) and a kitchen of my own. When I lived on my own, I typically resorted to pastas and frozen food that just needed to be plopped into a pot and stirred consistently. Buying fresh produce and working my fingers threw them makes me appreciate food in an entirely new light. I never really used to cook with wine because, in all honesty, I have no clue about wine. I do own a Wine for Dummies book, and attempted to learn about them, but I never really acquired a love for wines and so the book is now on sale on Amazon.com. Anyhow, cooking with wine makes me feel sexy, sophisticated and profound… It makes me feel all grown up! I am a big kid now and in today’s dish I used Marsala wine to kick my mushrooms and Chicken into one delightful dish.

When I first began to learn how to make Chicken Marsala, I tried a variation of recipes I found on my favorite website, foodnetwork.com. Many called for Prosciutto, which I do not cook at home (kosher chickens don’t appreciate pork juices). I tried to substitute the pork for slices of onions but they became over powering. After playing around with the recipe I realized that I like the taste of onion and garlic but I didn’t want to see it in my dish when I ate it, so I made way for my food processor. Kitchen Aid’s mini chopper works wonders and it really saves time when I need to chop things to minuscule bits.

If you do not have Marsala wine do not fret. I have used a mixture of red and white wine and the sauce came out delightful. You just can’t call it Marsala, you’ll have to call it Chicken –insert wine name here-.

Today’s recipe was pretty quick and an easy clean up, which makes me an even happier camper. ____________________________________________________
Chicken Marsala

Feeds: 2-3 people
Prep Time: 45 Minutes Tops

Ingredients:
6 pieces of thin cut chicken cutlets
2 cups of flour
¼ cup of olive oil
Salt and pepper
1 cup of Marsala Wine
1 package of portabella mini mushrooms
1 Cup of Chicken Broth
2 table spoons of flour (optional, if you want to thicken sauce)
1 small onion peeled, use a food processor or chop the onion as small as possible
3 cloves of garlic peeled and minced
Parsley (optional, I am not a fan of parsley but if you are go for it)

Directions:

Preparing the chicken: Wash your cutlets and pat them dry. Pour the 2 cups of flour into a flat play. Lightly sprinkle salt and pepper into the flour and mix with your fingers. Dunk both sides into the flour, making sure it is thoroughly covered.

Frying the chicken: In a large/ wide sauce pan heat the olive oil. When the oil is VERY hot place the flour covered chicken down into the oil and do not touch it. Let it fry for 4-5 minutes. Sneak a peak into the bottom to see the chicken has begun to brown. If it has, then flip it over and wait the same time for that second side to cook and brown. Remove the chicken and place onto a plate. Do not layer them, as they will stick together.

Marsala Sauce: In the remaining oil place the mushrooms to fry. Hopefully your sauce pan is large enough that your mushrooms have space and are not on top of each other. When the mushrooms have space, they tend to brown better. However, if you do not don’t worry your dish won’t be ruined. Do not touch them either while they are browning. Give them a few minutes and then flip the mushrooms over. Once they are cooked on both sides, add the minced garlic and the very-chopped onion. Let that fry. Sprinkle the two tablespoons of flower with a pinch or two of salt and pepper over the vegetables and stir.

Next step, add 1 cup of the Marsala wine and let it cook for 1 minute to diminish the alcohol. Then add 1 cup of the chicken broth, stir and allow the sauce to simmer for 20 minutes. Lower the heat so the simmer is steady but its not boiling the sauce.

[At this time, I washed all the dishes, and threw out the remaining flour that I used to dunk the chicken. By the time I was done, the sauce was ready!]

Now, add the chicken back into the pot and let it sit in the pot for 3-5 minutes so the chicken can absorb the sauce. (The flour’s main reason for existence in this dish is to absorb the sauce!)

Dinner is served! =)