Chicken Marsala

I was absent for the weekend. Maybe you didn't even notice but I assure you it was for your own good. Parenting is hard. I didn't give my parent this much grieve. I did not! My father likes to say that I was a handful but my father was pickled my entire childhood so his memories are a little distorted. I did have a sharp tongue. Guilty as charged! I still have a sharp tongue. Ugly words just seem to escape my mouth. I don't know how they get out! The Tortured Teenager gave us a run for our money this weekend. Friday I saw humor in it. Saturday I was hurt. Sunday, the true me was back! I am a true red head. When angered, I breath fire. Yesterday was one of those days. I was truly ugly. I could have made a happy baby cry. It was bad. Really bad. Today, fortunately the kids had to go to school and I have some quiet time to reflect. A time out so to speak. Those ugly thoughts are still simmering right under the surface. This time was unusually bad. Luckily I have a good man who thinks that I am funny and stands behind my ugliness. God love him.

Normally I take comfort in the kitchen. Even the kitchen held no interest. So I turned to Food Network. Some food porn must be the answer! Those ugly thoughts kept invading my mind. Damn it! Fortunately The Fireman was hungry and needed dinner! My goal this year is to cook meals I would want to eat out in a restaurant. Sunday dinner was to be Chicken Marsala.

Every once in while, I get suckered into eating at the Olive Garden. Not my favorite. Twenty minutes away there are amazing Italian restaurants that make the Olive Garden seem like fast food gone wrong. But when I do get suckered into it, I usually get Chicken Marsala. I don't know who turned me on to it. But the sauce is yummy. And over mashed potatoes. Heaven! Being Irish, you could put mashed potatoes on a shoe and I would find it appetizing so putting Marsala gravy over it is amazing. My kids do not like mushrooms. They haven't discovered that they taste like beef. It is probably a texture issue and not a taste issue. So I chopped up the mushrooms very fine hoping it wouldn't be an issue. I got this recipe off the Food Network. If I was to do it over, I would get some better mushrooms. I had some button mushrooms in the fridge so we went with what I had on stock. I also would salt and pepper the chicken more aggressively as the recipe doesn't even call for it. I did anyways sparsely. I served in a bowl over my Parmesan Mashed Potatoes. The Fireman would have preferred that it was on a plate.

Lets talk Mashed Potatoes. There are many years that The Fireman has had to work Thanksgiving. We don't mind. It's part of the job. He doesn't care who cooks the bird but the potatoes, only his wife. My family has become accustomed to my bold flavored potatoes. I do start with the basics, butter milk, salt and freshly ground pepper (lots of it) but then I take a turn, I put about a cup to two cups of freshly grated Parmesan cheese and if I planned ahead a whole glove of roasted garlic, if not garlic powder (I know..I know powder! But it gives it a ranch dip taste) And then if the that wasn't enough, I dump a cup of sour cream in my potatoes. There should be a warning on my potatoes. HIGHLY ADDICTIVE! HIGH IN FAT! ARTERY CLOGGING! But I only make then a couple times a year so just deal and work out a little extra before or after. Or do like I do, loosen your belt!

Chicken Marsala

recipe courtesy Food Network
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/chicken-marsala-recipe/index.html
Recipe courtesy Fran Geraci, owner of Geraci's in Cleveland, OH.

Ingredients

* 4 (8-ounce) boneless skinless chicken breasts
* All-purpose flour, for dredging, plus 2 tablespoons
* 3 ounces butter
* 1 tablespoon olive oil
* 2 cups sliced mushrooms
* 2 tablespoons minced garlic
* 4 tablespoons Marsala wine
* 2 cups beef stock

Directions

Put the chicken breasts between 2 pieces of waxed paper and flatten with a meat pounder until thin. Cut each chicken breast into 4 pieces. Add some flour to a shallow bowl. Dredge the chicken in the flour and shake off the excess flour.

(I didn't have more wax paper, so I used plastic wrap. I have found that a frying pan works great for pounding meat. Being in an ugly mood, this was very therapeutic for me. I even invited the Tortured Teenager over to see how I was dealing with my anger)
Add the butter and olive oil to a large saute pan over high heat and heat until it sizzles, do NOT let it brown. Add the chicken and saute until brown on both sides. Stir in the sliced mushrooms and saute briefly, then add the garlic. Add the Marsala and simmer for 3 minutes, then stir in the remaining 2 tablespoons of flour. Pour in the beef stock and let simmer until the sauce thickens, about 3 to 5 minutes. Transfer to a serving platter and serve.
(I had more meat than would fit in one pan all at once so I did it in batches and then put it all back into the sauce to finish up for the last five minutes. The flour on the meat really helps with the thickening of the sauce)

This recipe was provided by professional chefs and has been scaled down from a bulk recipe provided by a restaurant. The Food Network Kitchens chefs have not tested this recipe, in the proportions indicated, and therefore, we cannot make any representation as to the results.