Chicken Marsala

I made Chicken Marsala for Fred and Tammy Cerrone last night. Fred and I met 16 years ago playing baseball in Florida and we have played together ever since. He his from Toledo Ohio and a huge Notre Dame football fan. This recipe is one of my favorites, so I ressurected it from the archives....Enjoy, Gandy
PS to cook the alchohol out of the wine, you must boil for at least 3 minutes.

Get yourself the biggest frying pan with a lid you can find.Cover the bottom of the pan with 1/4 inch of olive oil. Add 1/2 stick of butter and let it melt over medium heat.

Take a boneless skinless chicken breast and dredge it in a mixture of 1 cup flour, 2 tsp salt and 1 tsp pepper. (Dredging means to lightly coat the meat all over.) This will help big time with the gravy later.

Place meat in frying pan and sear on one side for 5 minutes. The meat should be lightly browned. Carefully flip the meat over and sear for 3 minutes on side two. This process will seal the flavor of the meat.

Take 16 oz of fresh sliced mushroooms and spead them all over the pan and the meat. Take 1 cup marsala wine and 1/2 cup dry sherry wine; pour over contents of pan. Add chicken stock until meat is just about covered in liquid. Cover and cook for about 10 minutes. Check meat for your desired finish.

Set meat aside in a covered dish to keep hot. Drain mushrooms [SAVE LIQUID in pan] and place mushrooms over the top of the meat for presentation.

There should have been some reduction in the amount of liquid. Add more chicken stock to desired level of gravy that you want. Bring to slow boil. In a sepatate small bowl combine 1/2 cup corn starch to 1 cup COLD water. Mix well.

Slowly pour corn starch mixture into slowly boiling frying pan. Mix well. Add 1 Tbsp each granulated garlic and granulated onion. Salt and pepper to taste. This mixture, once it comes to a slow boil, will thicken quickly. DO NOT BURN. Stir constantly and once it thickens remove from heat.

The combination of flavors from the meat drippings, the wine, the stock, the spices...YUM!

   Serve with mashed potatoes, rice, pasta....awesome. My favorite thing here is to chop up fresh carrots and potaoes with skins on, boil until done in salted water; drain and pour gravy right on top. Maybe some green beans? Dinner!