Chicken Marsala

One summer during college, I worked at a fancy Italian restaurant. I don’t know why they hired me; I had no experience waiting tables, and I was in way over my head. I nearly spilled beer on people, forgot tables, and had to sound out cocktail orders phonetically to the bartenders. But one thing made it all worth it: I could occasionally get the chef to teach me things. Their Chicken Marsala recipe was one of the first complex meals I cooked on my own, and it’s still one of my favorites.

There are lots of variations on the theme. Here is a good recipe: http://homecooking.about.com/od/chickenrecipes/r/blchicken11.htm

A couple notes:
1) Never use cooking wine. It is loaded with salt and preservatives. Not only will it make your recipe too salty, it also tastes bad. Do yourself a favor and get a bottle of real Marsala, preferably sweet.
2) We use 1 cup of Marsala wine and 1 cup of chicken broth rather than the amounts given in the recipe.
3) Don’t skip pounding the chicken breasts flat, or they won’t cook evenly. Place them between two large pieces of plastic wrap when pounding to avoid splatter. You want them to be about 1/2” thick after pounding, or they will take much longer to cook than the recipe states.
4) Try using portabella mushrooms instead of white mushrooms for a more rich, earthy flavor.
5) We love adding sun-dried tomatoes with the mushrooms for extra tangy zing.