Dreary Daffodils Blog » first bite http://blog.drearydaffodils.com Fri, 29 Apr 2011 00:08:53 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 Chicken Marsala you take my breath away http://blog.drearydaffodils.com/2008/02/chicken-marsala-you-take-my-breathe-away/ http://blog.drearydaffodils.com/2008/02/chicken-marsala-you-take-my-breathe-away/#comments Sat, 16 Feb 2008 06:23:46 +0000 missnefarious http://blog.drearydaffodils.com/?p=86

 

 Alright so I said I’d make food for V-day. I chose to make Chicken Marsala with Zucchini Fritters and Molten Lava Cakes. Wow. I was skeptical about this chicken business at first but I am pretty sure now I can never become a vegetarian (sorry Eric). The chicken was so good that when I took the first bite I was overpowered by a vision of me and my meal hand in hand jumping over Marsala cream coated rainbows with pancetta bits raining down upon us. And I’m not even going to try to explain the fritters, their deliciousness was unspeakable. And the molten cake? I messed it up entirely, don’t even ask, it still hurts.

I only manged to snap shots of the Chicken for those who like their eyes to overheat by nearly pornographic pictures of saucy wonderness. For the rest of you, I don’t apologize, I am not ashamed of my love for cramming yummy food down my throat and then taking shameless pictures of the whole spectacle. 

Valentine’s Day isn’t so bad after all…

This recipe was inspired by Elise over at Simply Recipes, well it’s pretty much her recipe but I made a few change to suit my needs. When I first made this I couldn’t find pancetta at my local grocer and I didn’t have time to go up town so I used a high quality bacon instead, but if you can get pancetta I recommend going with that. I also upped the cream by about 5000 percent because apparently I hate the taste of Marsala wine unless it’s deluded with creamy goodness.

 

Chicken Marsala with Pancetta and Cream Recipe

INGREDIENTS

  • Olive oil
  • 5 oz pancetta (about a 1/4 inch thick slice), cut into 1/4 inch cubes
  • 1/2 medium onion, diced (or you can use chopped shallots)
  • Flour for dredging (about 1/2 cup)
  • 1 lb of skinless, boneless chicken breasts, cut or pounded into thin cutlets
  • Kosher salt
  • Freshly ground black pepper
  • 3/4 cup dry Marsala wine
  • 1/2 cup heavy cream
  • Minced fresh flat-leaf parsley

METHOD

1 Coat a large skillet lightly with olive oil and set it over medium high heat. Add the pancetta and cook until just crip and lightly browned. Remove with a slotted spoon, leaving the fat in the pan, and set aside. Add the onions to the pan and cook until translucent and slightly browned, 5-10 minutes. Remove with a slotted spoon, leaving the fat in the pan, and set aside.

2 Put the flour on a plate. Pat the cutlets dry. Season them on both sides lightly with salt and amply with pepper. Heat the skillet with the pancetta fat over medium high. Add more olive oil, if needed, to get about 2 Tbsp of fat in the pan.

3 When the fat is hot, dredge a cutlet through the flour on both sides. Shake off the excess flour and immediately put the cutlet in the pan. Do the same with as many cutlets as will fit in the pan without touching. Sauté the cutlets, turning once, until browned on both sides. If thin, they should cook through in just a few minutes total. Transfer the cooked cutlets to a plate and continue sauteíng the rest, adding more oil if necessary. Transfer these to the plate as well.

4 Pour off the excess fat. With the pan over med-high heat, add the Marsala and scrape up any browned bits from the bottom of the pan. Cook until the Marsala is reduced by about a quarter. Stir in the cream and boil until you get a nicely thickened sauce. 

Return the chicken, onions, and pancetta to the pan and turn the cutlets over to coat. Let them reheat for 30 seconds to 1 minute. Serve with the sauce and a sprinkling of parsley.

Serves 3-4

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