Once upon a time, there was this really cute guy that I liked. I wanted to impress him, so I invited him over to my place and made him dinner.
Little did I know, he was quite the cook himself.
He knew all kinds of things about reductions and deglazing. He never used a recipe or measured. He whipped up fancy dishes such as crab cakes or linguine alla vongole the way the rest of us make PB&J, and my little turkey meatloaf cowered with great humility.
His chicken Marsala was particularly amazing. For you Lexingtonians and Lexingtoniennes, it is way better than Bella Notte’s chicken Marsala (I think I just heard Mrs. Tierney laugh). There was no doubt that I was in love — with this man and with his chicken Marsala.
And then you know what happened? We got married. And now I get to have chicken Marsala any time I want.
And in case that wasn’t enough of a treat already, you know what he did last night? He took me to see Gone With the Wind — which is tied with Pee-Wee’s Big Adventure as my all-time favorite movie — and which was playing at the Aero Theater in Santa Monica. We sat and watched the entire thing, and I loved every minute of it.
While I can’t arrange for your personal Rhett Butler to take you on a Gone With the Wind date, I can show you how Hubba Bubba makes really fabulous chicken Marsala.
Frankly, my dear, you will most certainly give a damn.
CHICKEN MARSALA
canola oil
1 package thin-sliced chicken breasts*
1 C all-purpose flour
1 t salt
1/2 t ground black pepper
1 onion, sliced as shown above or however you like
3 C (give or take) sliced mushrooms**
1 1/2 C Marsala wine
Parsley, fresh chopped or dried, for garnish (Mike is so much fancier than I am)
*If you cannot find thin-sliced chicken breasts, buy regular ones and pound them out to about 1/3 inch thickness.
**I found already washed and sliced mushrooms at the grocery store. Yes please. I used two 10-oz bags. You can also buy a couple of packages of whole mushrooms, wipe the dirt off with a damp paper towel, and slice.
In a shallow dish, combine flour, salt & pepper, mixing thoroughly. In a large skillet over high heat, heat enough canola oil to come up about halfway on your chicken breasts. Lightly dredge chicken breasts in the flour mixture, then add to the hot pan. The chicken should sizzle when you lower it into the oil. Do not overcrowd the pan — you may need to work in batches. Cook about 3-4 minutes per side or until golden brown. Turn off heat and remove chicken breasts to a baking sheet that has been lined with aluminum foil and then paper towels (as pictured above). Keep chicken breasts warm in the oven on the lowest possible heat.
Meanwhile, carefully pour out your hot oil from the pan, discard, and wipe the pan clean. Return the pan to the stove over medium-high heat, add just enough canola or olive oil to lightly coat, and add sliced onions. Cook until the onions brown and soften, then add mushrooms. Mushrooms are like little sponges, so you may need to add more oil in the pan. Cook until golden brown, then turn heat to high and add Marsala wine. Allow to boil for several minutes. Your Marsala will reduce and thicken.
Transfer chicken breasts to a serving dish. When onion mixture appears thickened and the alcohol seems to have cooked out, pour over chicken breasts. Garnish with parsley. Serve with garlic mashed potatoes or pasta.
Fiddle-dee-dee,