Chicken Marsala

The America's Test Kitchen Family Cookbook

1/2c all purpose flour
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
salt and pepper
3T vegetable oil
3 oz pancetta, chopped fine
8oz white button mushrooms, sliced thin
1 garlic clove, minced
1t tomato paste
1-1/2 c sweet Marsala I used whatever I could find in the store; it wasn't marked sweet
1-2T fresh lemon juice
3T unsalted butter, cut into 3 pieces and chilled
2T minced fresh parsley I used dried

1. Adjust an oven rack to the middle position and heat the oven to 200 degrees. Spread the flour in a shallow dish.
2. Pound the thicker ends of the breasts as needed. Pat dry with paper towels, then season with salt and pepper. Dredge through the flour to coat and shake off any excess.
3. Heat 2 T of the oil in a 12" skillet over medium high heat until just smoking. Add the chicken and cook until light golden brown on both sides, about 10 minutes. Transfer the chicken to a plate and keep warm in the oven.
4. Add the remaining 1T oil to the skillet and return to medium high heat until shimmering. Add the pancetta and mushrooms. Cook until the pancetta is crisp and the mushrooms are brown, about 10 min.
5. Stir in the garlic and tomato paste. Cook until the paste begins to brown, about 1 min. Stir in the Marsala, scraping up any browned bits, and simmer until reduced and slightly syrupy, about 8 min.
6. Stir in the lemon juice and any accumulated chicken juice. Turn the heat to low and whisk in the butter, one piece at a time. Off the heat, stir in the parsley and season with salt and pepper to taste. Spoon the sauce over the chicken before serving.

I am not a fan of Chicken Marsala, but my husband very much is. He went through the ATK and picked out the recipes he wanted to try so I planned using that list.

To be truthful, the only time I've eaten chicken marsala before was a time long ago (way back in our first apartment together) when I made it. It was not good.

On the other hand, this was fantastic. I asked hubby what he thought of it and he said it was really good. I then asked if it was as good as what he'd get in a restaurant. He said no, but that he's had restaurant Chicken Marsala that was worse.

This recipe uses a LOT of marsala wine. It calls for 1-1/2c of it, which turned out to be most of the bottle I bought!