Magnificent Chicken Marsala

After two long 12-hour days for Mr. S, yesterday night we decided to open a bottle of wine and take a stab an Italian classic, Chicken Marsala!  So, we opened up a bottle of our favorite Boody Vineyards wine and got to work, combining a few of the recipes we found.  Below is what we came up with, and it was DELICIOUS!!!

Ingredients

•  1/2 c. all purpose flour
• 4 (6-ounce) boneless, skinless chicken breasts, trimmed of visible fat
• salt and pepper
• 6 teaspoons canola oil
• 12-16 ounces mushrooms (depending on how many you want)
• 2 cloves of garlic, minced
• 2 teaspoons fresh marjoram 
• 1 tsp dried basil
• 1 tsp onion powder
• 1 cup low-sodium chicken broth
• 1/2 cup sweet marsala wine
• 1 Tbsp water
• 1 tsp cornstarch
• 1 Tbsp unsalted butter

Directions

1. Spread flour into a shallow dish.  Season chicken with salt and pepper, then dredge in flour.  Heat 3-4 tsp of oil in a pan at medium heat.  When the oil is hot, add chicken and cook until gold brown, about 6-8 minutes.  Flip chicken and cook an additional 6-8 minutes.    Remove chicken from pan and cover on a plate with foil.
2. Add mushrooms to the pan with a tsp of oil. cool until reduced and browned, about 10 minutes. Add garlic and spices and cook for 30 seconds. 
3. Add Marsala wine to deglaze the pan.  Then add chicken broth and simmer.  Add the water to the cornstarch and whisk.  Add this constarch mixture to the pan. Allow to simmer about one minute while stirring. Add the butter into the pan, allow it to melt, and stir it into the sauce.  Allow to thicken.
4. Add the chicken back to the pan.  Spoon the sauce over the chicken constantly while the chicken simmers in the sauce.  Continue to cook 5-10 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through.

We blanched some asparagus and put the chicken and sauce on top.  Mr. S always says, "you eat with your eyes first".  So, as always, we tried to make it look pretty!