Chicken Marsala

I hope that everyone had a lovely Mother's Day!  I flew my Mom to Chicago to visit me.  Several of my girl friend's Moms came to Chicago as well and we all walked in the Y-Me Breast Cancer together.  Then we had a great bunch that my friends Jen and Jenn hosted.  We ended the day at my place where I hosted our weekly Sunday Night Dinner.  I was so excited to cook dinner for both my Mom and my friend Dre's Mom Fay, who is also this blog's biggest fan!

After some careful consideration, I decided to make Chicken Marsala.  As I have explained previously, when I am hosting a dinner party, I prefer to do the majority of the cooking the day before.  I have several recipes that I think taste better when they are made the day before that are perfect for this purpose.

This recipe does take a while to make, and even longer if you are making it for 12 people!  It is definitely worth the time though!

Total time: 2  hours

You will need:

3 pounds Chicken Breasts

1 cup Flour (seasoned with Salt and Pepper for dredging)

1 large Onion

1 12 ounce packaged of sliced mushrooms

1 bottle Marsala Wine (available at Whole Foods)

3 cloves Garlic

Butter

Olive Oil

4 Eggs

1 Lemon

1 1/2 teaspoons Tomato Paste

1 teaspoon Flour

Step 1:

Heat a large skillet and saute the onion in butter and olive oil.  Once the onion has softened, add the mushrooms.  Once the mushrooms are soft, add the garlic and saute for another minute.  Then add in 1/4 cup Marsala Wine.  Saute until the wine has been absorbed.  Set aside.

Step 2:

Quarter the chicken breasts.  Then beat the eggs in a bowl and add juice from 1/4 of the lemon.  Prepare the seasoned flour.  Heat a skillet over medium heat.  Add enough butter and olive oil to coat the bottom of the pan.  Coat the chicken in the seasoned flour, then the egg, and then back in the flour.  Then cook until browned.

Step 3:

Preheat the oven to 300 degrees.  Place the browned chicken in a greased casserole dish.  Then slowly pour the rest of the wine in skillet you used to brown the chicken.  Add the tomato paste and 1 teaspoon flour.  Stir quickly so the flour does not clump.  Using a wooden spoon, scrape any browned bits of chicken off the bottom of the skillet.  Stir until the sauce boils.  Add the onions and mushrooms and then let boil for another 2 minutes.

Step 4:

Pour the sauce over the chicken into the casserole dish.  Let bake for 1 hour or until the chicken is fully cooked.  

** I serve this dish with egg noodles.

Chicken Tetrazzini

When I began blogging I asked my friends if there were any recipes that they wanted me to make.  My friend Caroline asked for Chicken Tetrazzini, a dish that her grandmother used to make for her.  I had heard of Chicken Tretazzini, but I had never had it before and I had no idea how to make it.  I did some research and found a few recipes online.  I ended up using Giada's recipe as a reference, but made lots of changes to make it healthier.  Her recipe involved 9 tablespoons of butter, 4 cups of whole milk, and a cup of heavy cream.  While I am sure her recipe is delicious, I am trying to keep things reasonably healthy so I found ways to greatly reduce the amount of fat.

I wanted to hold off on making Caroline's request until I could host Sunday Night Dinner.  I wanted Caroline to be able to try it, and I knew that it is a dish that serves a lot of people, which is perfect for SND.  So last Sunday everyone came over for Chicken Tetrazzini and the Golden Globes.  We had so much fun, and were so laughing so loud I am surprised by neighbors did not complain!

This recipe does take longer than my other recipes, because it calls for cooked chicken.  I baked the chicken the night before, which reduced the day of prep time to about 45 minutes.

Total time: 1 hour 45 minutes
Active time: 1 hour
Serves: 10-12

You will need:
4 cups diced Quick and Easy Baked Chicken
3 1/2 cups Milk
1 can Cream of Mushroom Soup
1 cup Chicken Broth
4 tablespoons Butter
1/3 cup Flour12 ounces sliced Mushrooms
1/4 cup White Wine
3 cloves garlic, pressed
1 pound Linguini
2 pinches of Nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon Thyme
1 cup Parmesan
1/2 cup Italian Breadcrumbs
1 tablespoon Olive Oil
1 greased casserole dish

Step 1:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  In a large pot melt 3 tablespoons butter.  Then whisk in the flour.  Whisk until the butter and flour are completely combined.  Then add all of the milk and whisk until the flour and butter is combined.  Then add the cream of mushroom soup and the chicken broth.  Whisk together, then stir in the nutmeg and thyme.  Bring to a slow boil.  Let boil for about 5 minutes to thicken.  Then reduce heat to low.

Step 2:
Bring a large pot of water to a boil.  Add the linguini and cook al dente.

Step 3:
While the pasta is cooking, melt 1 tablespoon butter in a large skillet.  Then add the pressed garlic.  After 1 minute add the mushrooms and the white wine.  Saute until the mushrooms have absorbed all of the liquid.

Step 4:
At this point the sauce is ready, and the pasta should be cooked and drained.  Add the diced chicken and the mushrooms to the sauce.  Then add the pasta.  Stir together and then pour into the casserole dish.

Step 5:
Mix the Parmesan, breadcrumbs and olive oil together.  Then spread over the top of the casserole.

Step 6:
Bake for 20 minutes and then turn the broiler on to brown the crust.  Once the broiler is on the top will only take a minute or two to brown.  You want to cook the chicken tetrazzini just until it is hot, if you overcook it the pasta will absorb too much of the sauce and the dish will be dry.

Sirloin Tips

I hosted Sunday Night Dinner this week, and this recipe was a big hit when I made it last year so I decided to make it again.  This recipe was given to me by my mother who made this frequently when I was growing up.  I love this recipe because it is very delicious but also practical.  It tastes better when you make it the night before - and I like to make the meal the night before when I am hosting a larger group.  Another great thing about Sirloin Tips is that it will freeze very well.

My sister and I make this recipe frequently.  We live in cities and sometimes have trouble finding some of the ingredients because we go to smaller grocery stores.  We have found that you can use Tri Tips if you cannot find Sirloin Tips, and that beef broth can be used instead of beef consommé.  Feel free to add more of the vegetables if you have a favorite - I usually double the amount of mushrooms.


Serves: 6
Active Prep Time: 1 hour
Cook Time: 3 hours

2 tablespoons butter 
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 pounds beef sirloin tips (or tri tips) cut into 1 inch cubes
2 peppers (red, green, orange or yellow) chopped, into 1/2 pieces (if you chop this too small the peppers will disappear into the sauce)
1 onion
1 cup sliced mushrooms
2 cloves garlic
1 can beef consommé, 10 oz (or beef broth)
1 cup red wine
2 tablespoons soy sauce
Flour for dredging, seasoned with salt and pepper
1 tablespoon dried tarragon 


Step 1:
Melt butter with olive oil in a large skillet and sauté the peppers.  When it starts to soften, add the onion, when soft, add the mushrooms and garlic.  Remove and reserve for later.  


Step 2:
Toss the meat in the seasoned flour.  In a large pot, brown the dredged meat in small batches adding more butter and oil if necessary.  


Step 3:
Once all the meat is browned return it all to the pot.  Stir in the consommé, wine and soy sauce.  Return the sauteed vegetables.  Add the tarragon and heat until boiling. 


Step 4:
Cover and reduce the heat so that the mixture simmers slowly for about 2-3 hours, or until the meat is tender.  If the sauce needs to be thickened, add a mixture of 2 tablespoons cornstarch that has been combined with ¼ cup of water.  Add, stir constantly until boiling and cook for 1 minute.  Serve over rice, mashed potatoes, or egg noodles. 


*** For best results – prepare the night before, and cook for only 1 hour.  Refrigerate overnight. The next day, spoon off any fat that has settled at the top.  Then simmer for 2 hours.