Everyone Has To Start Somewhere - My First Marsala

I can explicitly remember the first time I attempted to innovate with food.  I was about 4 or 5 years old and I was watching TV when a cooking show came on.  I remember watching and being fascniated at the concept.  Up to that point, I'd just show up in the kitchen and food was on the table at mealtime.  I didn't recall ever seeing my parents cook things for some reason, though they obviously did.  I watched the chef as he combined two ingredients to make one and I thought, "I could do that."   My first attempt at a culinary combination was to mix 50% orange juice and 50% milk in a glass.  (I was 4.)   It ended up down the drain and I stopped cooking for 20 years...

Shortly after I got married, I decided we should go to a "fancy" restaurant for one of our first dates (...if you can consider The Macaroni Grill" fancy.)  To me, it was fancy.  Up to that point, my palette had only been accustomed to frozen pizzas, chicken nuggets, and peanut butter & jelly.   I also grew up in an area where, at the time, there were two types of restaurants:  Standard (McDonalds & Hardees) and Fancy (Village Inn & Country Kitchen).  I was 21 so a fancy dinner at The Macaroni Grill seemed like a perfect evening.  I even ordered a Pinot Grigio (or as I pronounced it, a "pie-knot greeggeo".) for the lady.

I looked through the menu and had no idea what I was reading, so I just read the description of each entry and what it contained until I found something reasonably appealing.  I stopped on "Chicken Marsala".  Chicken, garlic, mushrooms, shallots...I thought to myself, "Hmm..don't know what those are but I'm sure they're some kind of noodle."  I ordered it.  After a minute, the waiter brought a plate of oil with some flecks of things mixed in and a basket of bread.  I thanked him even though I had no idea what I was going to do with a plate of oil.  I looked around and saw people dipping  their bread in the oil/seasoning mixture so that's what I did.  Tasty.  My meal came and I'll tell you, it was a revelation.  I enjoyed it so much and to that point, it was the most sophisticated thing I'd ever eaten.

Enter the conflict of my story.  I was so impressed with my experience there that I  began to think about getting more into cooking myself.  I decided I would try to make Chicken Marsala and recreate that experience.  My excitement quickly fizzled as I realized I had absolutely no idea how to make this dish.  This was back at a time where I didn't have a computer to reference anything or a single cookbook to my name.  Rather than go to the library and do a little research, I did the most logical thing anyone could do....I called the restaurant and asked them if they'd tell me how to make it.  (Wow.)

Imagine that, they didn't tell me so it was off to the store to figure it out.  I asked one of the cashiers at the Cub Foods if their shallots were in the frozen section or the pasta aisle.  I've never seen such a contorted, confused face in my life.  "Shallots are small onions.  They're in the produce section." he replied.  "Ah.  Carry on."   I bought everything I thought I needed including a nice loaf of  bread and a bottle of Vegetable oil to dip it in.  I know...I'll get to that.  The other MAJOR mistake I made, was buying Marsala wine from the cooking aids aisle.  I know it's cliche', but NEVER cook with wine that you wouldn't drink yourself.  If you haven't tried those bottles of "wine" in the grocery store, they are loaded with salt and (in my opinion) repulsive to taste.

I put a pot of water on to boil my chicken in (I know) and began to prepare everything else.  I cut the chicken into pieces and let them boil a few minutes before draining most of the water but leaving some...why not, right?  Then I dumped the whole bottle of "marsala salt drink" in along with the garlic and shallots.  I let it continue to boil, not even simmer, while I got my noodles ready.  Just before serving, I remembered the seasoned oil.  I poured the Vegetable oil onto a plate (you're supposed to use Olive Oil) and then played roulette with the spices in my cupboard that I had never used.  Paprika and cinnamon should suffice.  Two bites in and thirty seconds later, I was on the phone with Papa Johns Pizza.  Everyone's gotta start somewhere...

On Grigal's Health-O-Meter, this dish scores about a 5 out 10.  With the extra flour for dredging, wine, and butter/cream, it brings the nutrition down a bit while inversely bringing the flavor up.

Ingredients:

• 3 Chicken Breasts
• 1 Cup All Purpose Flour
• 2 Tbsp. Black Pepper
• 2 Tbsp. Kosher Salt
• 1 1/2 Cup Sliced Button Mushrooms or Baby Portabello
• 1 Cup Marsala Wine (Don't Get The Cooking Wine - Get Real Marsala.)
• 1 Cup Chicken Broth
• 1 Stick of Butter
• 8oz Heavy Cream (If you don't want to use the butter and prefer a sweeter sauce.)
• Your favorite Pasta Noodles (I prefer plain spaghetti, but you could use any.)

How To Make:

• Place the chicken breasts on some wax paper and cover with a layer of Saran Wrap. With a flat tenderizer, pound the meat until approximately 1/4" thick. On a separate platter, combine the flour, salt and pepper. Dredge the chicken in the flour mixture and shake to eliminate excess.
• In a large saute pan over medium heat, melt 1/2 stick of butter with a tablespoon of olive oil so the butter doesn't burn. If you're omitting the butter, just use enough oil to coat the bottom of the pan.  When the butter is nearly melted, place the chicken and mushrooms in the pan. (Do not move the chicken - allow it to absorb the flavors.) After 3-4 minutes, add another 2 Tbsp. butter-or oil-to the pan, move the mushrooms to the side and flip the chicken over. Again, leave the breasts alone 3-4 minutes.
• After the 4 minutes, pour the marsala over the chicken and allow to cook 2-3 minutes to reduce. Then add the chicken broth (and cream if you're using it). Stir well, reduce heat to low and allow to simmer 25-30 minutes until cooked through. Serve over cooked pasta noodles.