Another Chicken Hit...

I have never made Chicken Marsala, but always enjoyed it at restaurants so I thought I would give it a try. It was slightly more technical than I thought, but worth it! James and I both went back for seconds.


Chicken Marsala (recipe courtesy of myrecipe.com)

Ingredients
4 tablespoons butter, divided
Cooking spray
1 (8-ounce) package presliced mushrooms
2 tablespoons finely chopped shallots
1 tablespoon minced fresh garlic
4 (6-ounce) skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
1/4 teaspoon salt, divided
1/4 teaspoon black pepper, divided
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
3/4 cup fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
1/2 cup dry Marsala wine
1/2 cup frozen green peas
2 tablespoons half-and-half
4 cups hot cooked fettuccine (about 8 ounces uncooked pasta)

Preparation
Place 3 tablespoons butter in a small glass measuring cup. Microwave butter at MEDIUM-HIGH 45 seconds or until melted. Let stand 1 minute. Skim foam from surface, and discard. (Mixture will appear separated.) Set the clarified butter aside. (My note: This ensures it will not burn when cooking the chicken.)

Heat a large nonstick skillet coated with cooking spray over medium-high heat; add mushrooms, shallots, and garlic. Cook 3 minutes or until moisture evaporates; remove mushroom mixture from pan. Set aside.

Place each chicken breast half between 2 sheets of heavy-duty plastic wrap; pound to a 1/4-inch thickness using a meat mallet or rolling pin. Sprinkle both sides of chicken with 1/8 teaspoon salt and 1/8 teaspoon pepper. Place flour in a shallow dish; dredge chicken breast halves in flour.

Add clarified butter to pan, and place over medium-high heat. Add chicken; cook 3 minutes on each side or until lightly browned. Remove chicken from pan. Return mushroom mixture to pan; add broth and Marsala, scraping pan to loosen browned bits. Bring mixture to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer 5 minutes or until reduced to 1 cup. Stir in peas; cook 1 minute. Add 1 tablespoon butter, half-and-half, 1/8 teaspoon salt, and 1/8 teaspoon pepper, stirring until butter melts. Return chicken to pan; cook until thoroughly heated. Serve chicken and sauce over pasta.

***A few changes/adjustments I made to make it easier (and better). I used canned early peas (not sweet peas) which I thought cooked better than the frozen kind. I used fresh mushrooms which I thought really added to the flavor. I bought the pre-thinned chicken breast at the grocery (was actually cheaper) and cut out that step.

As Julia would say "Bon Appetit!"