Tuesday, May 03, 2005

Chicken Marsala and Garlic Oil Bread

Topic: Recipe
Cuisine: Italian

The obligatory recipe. Taken from the back of the marsala wine bottle.

4 Boneless Skinless Chicken Thighs
flour
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon butter
2 portabello mushroom caps, sliced
1 cup marsala cooking wine
Chopped parsley
kosher salt and cracked black pepper
Half a lemon. Use the other half for water or something.
1 tablespoon cornstarch with water into a paste.

Slice chicken thighs along the center thinner section. Take each section, cover with seran, and pound flat with a mallet or flat side of a large knife. Pat dry with a dry paper towel. Season both sides of chicken with a pinch of salt and 1 crack of black pepper, or more cracks if you like pepper. Dredge the meat in flour.

In deep sauce pan, melt butter in olive oil in medium heat. Brown both sides of chicken, about 4 minutes on each side. Set aside. One good thing to do with them instead of setting them aside in paper towels is to put them on cooling racks on cookie sheets in the oven on warm heat.
Saute mushrooms, stir in wine. Cook away the alcohol. While the sauce is boiling stir in the cornstarch paste to thicken the sauce. Place chicken back into the sauce to make sure that each piece is well covered. On serving plate squeeze lemon over it and garnish with parsley.

You can add more marsala wine.... 1 cup or so with another tablespoon cornstarch into paste... for some pasta. Once coating the chicken in sauce remove chicken to serving plate and throw cooked pasta into the sauce... stir around and remove. Pour remaining sauce over chicken. You can use the other lemon half for the pasta.

Garlic Oil Bread

1/2 cup olive oil (light or extra virgin)
1 clove crushed garlic
1 tablespoon italian herbs

Warm oil in medium heat. Throw in garlic and herbs. Remove when garlic gets a little brown. You can use this as dipping oil OR...
Take a loaf of bread and slice it diagonally but not all the way so that it's still all connected. With the loaf on aluminum foil, spoon oil, herbs and all, into every other gap in the bread. Wrap up and throw into the oven at 300 degrees for 5 minutes.