ONE RECIPE, TWO DISHES

I've been away from my blog for a while. I was very busy at work, and cooked just for survival. I mainly made dishes that I can take with me at work for lunch. This made my husband very happy, because these dishes were on the dry side (my husband's favorite), so that I can chop some of the leftovers on a salad to take with me. During the week end, I checked out the kitchen freezer to plan my coming week. I needed some veggies. Dry food (grilled chicken or meat, or anything without any kind of sauce) without vegetables on the side, is not an option for me. I found 3 packages of chicken breasts. That's a start. I decided to compromise: with some I'll cook a dry dish for my husband and some with sauce, just for a change.

I just remembered that the last time we had some friends over I made chicken Marsala, so why not make it today with a twist?

CHICKEN MARSALA WITH A TWIST

                                               

  

I actually made this dish as an after thought. To my husband's delight I announced that we were going to have chicken Milanese today. I had already trimmed the chicken breasts, pounded them thin and started marinating them when I decided to put some cutlets aside to make another dish. Why? Simply because while I was reorganizing the fridge, I found a couple of tomatoes who started to go soft, because I had just bought a box of canned mushrooms, and I still had some dried mushrooms in the pantry. So I thought: tomatoes and mushrooms, can we still call it Chicken Marsala if it had tomatoes in it? I guess we can. I made it and nobody objected, not even the chicken. You'll need:

4 breast cutlets (from 1 chicken breast)

1/2 tbsp onion/garlic frozen mixture

2 tbsp oil

1 large handful of dried mushrooms

1 ( 4 oz) can sliced mushrooms, or 2 cups fresh sliced mushrooms

1 good pinch each dried oregano and thyme

1 (14 oz) can diced tomatoes with their juices

1/2 cup Marsala

2 cups chicken stock

Salt and pepper to taste

1 tbsp flour for dusting

First a note: these are the "official" ingredients. What actually happened is that when I thought of making this dish, I had already started marinating the chicken cutlets for the other dish, so I just fished out the cutlets I needed and shook them to remove as much marinade as I could. I also used the leftover mixture of flour and bread crumbs to dust the cutlets before cooking them. I also had chopped fresh tomatoes that I used with the canned diced ones.

So I dusted the cutlets, and in a non stick skillet cooked the onion/garlic mixture, with salt and pepper, in the oil for a couple of minutes, just until tender. Add the cutlets and let cook on one side undisturbed for about 4 minutes. In the mean time, cook the dried mushrooms in the stock until tender and the stock reduced. Turn the cutlets to the other side, sprinkle with oregano and thyme, and let cook for another 3 minutes. I don't want them to brown, just a light yellow. Add the Marsala, let reduce, then add the sliced mushrooms, the cooked mushrooms with the reduced stock, and finally the tomatoes. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and let simmer until all the ingredients come together and the sauce thickens. Serve with rice, pasta or simply toasted slices of bread.

CHICKEN MARSALA, HOLD THE MARSALA

                                                        

I made this dish when we had some friends over for dinner. I knew that they don't drink, and was not sure that they would have easily accepted the idea that when you cook with wine, the wine evaporates and you just get the nice flavor. I didn't want to have a discussion over it. I'll make the chicken Marsala, without the Marsala. Again, nobody objected, and the dish was a big success. I didn't fret about it because I know that when I eliminate one ingredient from a recipe, I always add something else to make up for the one I lost. I just made one mistake: I used too much chicken and my biggest pan was a bit too little for the quantity. You'll need:

2 chicken breasts, sliced in cutlets and pounded thin

1 1/2 tbsp frozen onion/garlic mixture

1 to 2 tbsp lemon juice

1 tsp dried oregano

1 lb fresh white mushrooms, cleaned and sliced

2 tbsp oil

Flour for dusting the cutlets

1 to 2 tsp chicken gravy powder, optional

Salt and pepper to taste

Start by marinating the cutlets in the onion mixture, with salt, pepper, oregano and lemon juice.  Let stand for 30 minutes. Lightly dust the cutlets with flour. In a non stick skillet heat the oil and start browning the cutlets in batches. Make sure that the cutlets are a very light brown. Remove to a platter lined with paper towels. Next cook the mushrooms in the same skillet until tender. Return the chicken pieces to the skillet. Add some water or chicken stock, and carefully stir with a spatula to deglaze the pan. Let reduce. If using the chicken gravy powder, add it to the skillet and stir to combine until you get a nice thick sauce. Serve.