Chicken Marsala, Winehiker-Style

Yesterday, after learning about one of my favorite wines garnering a Double Gold from the San Francisco International Wine Competition, I decided to pop a bottle and cook up a delicious dinner to go with it. Ever since dining at Slow Club in San Francisco last Thursday night, I’d been in the mood to see if I could conjure up my own version of braised chicken breast, and I felt that the 2006 Torcido from Twisted Oak Winery, with its ripe, meaty flavors, would pair well.

So I poured a glass of Torcido, honed my chef’s knife, and went to work. Later, confident that I was satisfactorily smelling up the neighborhood, I tweeted what I was up to:

Braising chicken breast in marsala, onions, garlic, garden-grown thyme, organic chicken broth, and essence. S/B !! w/ that luscious Torcido.

My Twitter feed displays on my Facebook page, where fellow winehiker Thais Li spied it this morning. She promptly asked me for my recipe!

I was profoundly flattered. I was also bereft of a recipe, since I’d concocted the whole shebang out of my head. You know, as long as I’ve got tongs or a wooden spoon in one hand and a glass of vino in the other, I’m cookin’. I’m usually happy with the results. Last night was no different! And the wine made for a purty darn good pairing, too.

To wit, my recipe for CHICKEN MARSALA, WINEHIKER STYLE:

3-4 boneless chicken breasts
1/2 cup flour
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. Emeril’s essence (or substitute 1/2 tsp. cayenne powder, 1/4 tsp. cumin and 1/4 tsp. black pepper)
1 onion, sliced
3-4 cloves garlic, smashed
8 oz. crimini mushrooms, sliced
2 sprigs fresh thyme
1 cup marsala wine
2 cups chicken broth
Olive oil
Pat of butter
Salt & pepper to taste

Wash the chicken breasts, pat them dry, then start a skillet over medium heat, with just enough olive oil to coat the bottom of the skillet. In a brown paper bag, add the flour, salt, and essence. Close the bag and shake to combine these dry ingredients, then add the chicken breasts and shake well to coat them.

When the oil is smoking hot, remove the chicken breasts from the paper bag with tongs, and place them into the skillet. Brown the breasts on both sides for 5-7 minutes each, being careful not to scorch them. When the breasts are done, remove them from the skillet, place them onto a plate, then cover them with foil to keep them warm.

Add the butter and the onions to the skillet, stirring occasionally until they are almost soft. Add the crimini mushrooms and the thyme and cook until the mushrooms have released and evaporated their water content. Add the garlic and cook one additional minute. Then, place the cooked chicken breasts back into the skillet.

Pour in the wine and let come to a boil, then add enough chicken broth to cover the chicken breasts. Turn the heat down to Low, cover and simmer for 30 minutes.

Before serving, remove the sprig of thyme, and garnish with fresh chopped Italian parsley. Oh, and pour a generous glassful of Torcido! After smelling up the neighborhood something fierce, you deserve to celebrate what you just accomplished.

Cheers!
~winehiker

Related posts:

• Going to the high country? Eat your liver & onions first!
• One good reason why I’m the winehiker
• Thus the Winehiker enters the glamorous world of winemaking

This entry was posted on Tuesday, June 17th, 2008 at 2:46 pm and is filed under grape squeezins. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.