Marsala in a Minute

JC and I haven't had much time to cook recently. Both of us have been exhausted beyond belief, so I thought it would be nice to finally have a home cooked meal. One of my favorite dishes is Chicken Marsala. I love the sweet hint the wine gives to the flavor of the sauce, and the mushrooms just add to the yumminess. I like to serve it over a bed of plain linguine sprinkled with some chopped parsley, it makes it look really fancy. This dish is so so so easy. You just need some chicken and a few other ingredients to make a dish that looks and tastes like it took hours. Also, don't buy that cheap stuff they call "Marsala" in the cooking wine aisle by the vinegars and oils. Just go to the alcohol section and get a real bottle of Marsala. It will only cost you about five bucks and will make the dish taste so much better.

As our veggie side, I decided to try and easy recipe for roasted cauliflower. Cauliflower is a big face in this household, and this is an incredibly simple and easy way to prepare it. You can season it with whatever you like. We did a curry powder and it was delicious. It is so easy to prepare, takes just about 20 minutes to bake, and you have a scrumptious (an healthy) vegetable side.

 
Chicken Marsala
from Houseboat Eats

• 8 chicken cutlets (or about 1½ pounds of chicken breasts)
• salt and freshly ground pepper
• ¼ cup unbleached all purpose flour
• 2 Tbsp vegetable oil
• 3 Tbsp unsalted butter
• ½ small onion, chopped fine
• 8 oz. mushrooms, sliced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• ¾ cup Marsala wine
• ½ cup low-sodium chicken broth
• 2 tsp fresh lemon juice
• 1 Tbsp fresh parsley, minced

To make chicken cutlets, just pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts between two pieces of plastic wrap using a meat pounder, an empty wine bottle, or the bottom of a heavy saucepan or skillet. You want them between ¼ and ½ inch thick.

Pat the cutlets dry with paper towels and season with salt and pepper. Dredge the cutlets in the flour to coat and shake to remove excess. Heat 1 tablespoon of the oil in a large nonstick skillet over high heat until just smoking. Add half of the cutlets and cook until golden brown, 2 to 2½ minutes on each side. Transfer to a large plate and tent with foil. Repeat with the remaining oil and cutlets.

Reduce the heat to medium high and melt 1 tablespoon of the butter in the now-empty skillet. Cook the onion and mushrooms until browned, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Transfer the mushroom mixture to a medium bowl and tent with foil.

Add the Marsala and broth to the empty skillet, bring to a boil over high heat, and cook until reduced to ⅓ to ½ cup, about 5 minutes. Reduce the heat to medium-low, return the chicken and their juices to the skillet, and turn the chicken to heat through, about 1 minute. Transfer the chicken to a serving platter. Turn off the heat, whisk in the remaining 2 tablespoons butter, lemon juice, parsley, and mushroom mixture. Pour the sauce over the chicken. Serve over a bed of linguine tossed in olive oil and chopped parsley.


Roasted Cauliflower

• One head of cauliflower, cut into florets
• 3 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil, or just enough to coat the cauliflower
• Any spices your heart desires--we did a couple teaspoons of curry powder

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Toss the cauliflower, oilve oil, and spices in a large bowl. Dump onto a baking sheet lined with tin foil. Bake for 15-20 minutes, stirring half way through, or until the little guys are browned and crispy.