{Recipe} Chicken Marsala

I love Italian food, but I can't handle how heavy some of it feels. Going to Italian restaurants is basically a pasta smorgasbord, and I'm pretty sure most Americans really do believe that the Italians are simply incapable of making light dishes. Even the Olive Garden version of this recipe is very breaded! It's not true, Americans! Don't believe the hype!

This Chicken Marsala recipe is such a favorite of mine that I used to make it nearly once a week. I've made it so many times that it's not very precise anymore, but I'll provide close estimates.

Recipe:

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, thin-cut
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 tbsp dried oregano
1/2 cup Marsala wine
1/2 cup chicken stock
2 tbsp heavy cream
salt and pepper to season
olive oil for browning

(Note: I was feeding hungry boys so I doubled the recipe in this post.)

Start out by seasoning your chicken with the salt and pepper:

Pat it in so that it's sticking.

Mix the oregano with the flour on a plate or shallow dish.

Dredge each side LIGHTLY with flour. 

(If you are a paleo or primal eater, the flour is easily omitted. Just season it with the salt, pepper, and oregano and fry it in the olive oil like that. This recipe easily converts to a paleo or primal diet except for the sugar in the wine.)

Cook in the olive oil over medium heat them for 4-5 minutes on each side. When they're done, move them to a casserole dish and cover with foil.

Some recipes call for leaving the brown bits from frying in the bottom of the pan. Since I did three batches of chicken browning, there was A LOT of brown stuff, so I just wiped it out with a paper towel and returned the pan to the burner.

(However, if you have a manageable amount of "brown bits," I recommend leaving them in, they add lots of flavor to the sauce.)

In the same pan, saute the mushrooms in a tablespoon of olive oil over medium heat for about five minutes. 

Then add the Marsala wine (a sweet dessert-y wine that we keep on hand exclusively for this dish) and cook for two minutes.

Then add the chicken stock...

... and the heavy cream. Mix it together and continue to cook down the sauce for another five minutes until it is visibly reduced.

I neglected to get pictures, but I then poured the Marsala sauce over the chicken in the casserole pan, covered it with foil, then popped it in the oven at 350 degrees for about 10-15 minutes. I wanted the chicken to be completely done and for the sauce to cook into the pieces a bit.

Here is the final product:

Mmm, so tasty! This is one of my top five favorite dishes, and something that tastes better at home than it does in the restaurant. Wait till you see my take on Alice Springs Chicken (Outback Steakhouse) and Fiesta Lime Chicken (Applebee's)! But those are posts for other days.

You might be wondering, "Where was Lucy when all of this was taking place?" Well--

Tomorrow: the cake recipe everyone's been waiting for!