Melissa Marsala

Do you ever have those days that everything goes right, that the stars align and it is as if you won the lottery?  Well today was not one of those days.  Neither one of us found the man of our dreams today, nor ended up with the job of our dreams.  But something wonderful did happen today.  Dad liked it.  In the classic Life cereal commercial, the young boy loved the bowl of grains in front of him.  Well Dad, as much as he never complains about dinner, is usually just not enthusiastic about it.  More meat and potatoes, less vegetables would be ideal for him, but the rest of us have insatiable appetites for all types of foods.  So tonight, as it was just Dad and myself, we sat and had a power discussion about dinner.  Suggestions flew right and left faster than the football passes on TV and we narrowed down the options.  Chicken as the meat, mushrooms with the sauce.  The rest was up to me.

I searched my culinary mind for inspiration.  Not wanting a mushroom pan gravy, I sought something more robust.  I recalled reading a steak with a sherried mushroom sauce, and I pondered all the way over to the liquor cabinet to see if we had any of the cooking wine.  We didn't, but what we did have was Marsala.  Winner, winner, chicken dinner.  Chicken Marsala, it's what (was) for dinner.  Being that it was just dad and myself however, I thought I would change it up a bit to make it more to our tastes.  The idea reminded me of the two us.  A little less sweet, a little more salty, and little bit saucier than the norm.

A quick cook is all it takes for Marsala, so we were sitting down to eat in no time.  A bite, and I was like, "this is good."  I chatted aimlessly about how I mixed things up a bit by adding a touch more chicken broth and a bit of Worcestershire to cut the sweet, and all the while I wasn't noticing, Dad was just eating.  Then came the magic words; "this is really good."  It was everything in my power not to drop my fork and gape.  He liked, he really liked it.  Silently, enthusiastically slapping myself on the back, I knew this was good, but didn't realize until that moment that it was great.  Thank you food lords, and thank you Dad.  Dinners like these are, in the words of another classic commercial, "they're GREAT!"

Melissa'a Chicken Marsala

4 4oz chicken breasts, pounded to 1/4-inch thickness
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon black pepper
2 cups flour
Cooking Spray
2 cups sliced cremini mushrooms
1 cup Marsala wine
1 1/2 cups chicken broth
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1/8 teaspoon dried summer savory
salt and pepper to taste

Heat a deep skillet over medium-high heat.  Season each chicken breast with the salt and pepper.  Coat with flour, shaking off any excess, reserving 2 tablespooons of the flour.  Coat the heated pan with cooking spray and saute the chicken 5 minutes, flip and cook for 5 minutes more.  Remove chicken from pan.  Add mushrooms to pan with a tiny bit of salt to release the juices.  Cook for 1 minute.  Add wine and stir to scrape bottom of pan to remove any brown bits.  Add broth, Worcestershire, and summer savory.  Return chicken to pan and bring to a boil.. Reduce heat and simmer for 8 minutes or until chicken is cooked through.

Combine 2 tablespoons of flour and 1/4 cup water to make a slurry.  Whisk until smooth.  Pour slurry into pan and return to a boil, simmer until desired thickness.  Serve sauce over chicken 

Yield: 4 Servings