Chicken Marsalvelous

Thanks to my sister-in-law Brynn, I discovered Chicken Marsala. She had it at Olive Garden and loved it. I vaguely remember hearing of it, but had never tasted it. Brynn's description tantalized me enough for me to give it a try. I found the recipe in my "The Best New Recipe" cookbook and decided to try it. It is different from the Olive Garden website recipe, but I really trust these guys, so I followed this recipe. It turned out fabulously! Even the kids liked it. Olive Garden serves with mashed potatoes, which sounds scrumptious. I also thought it would go nicely with spaghetti. So here is the recipe for you to try. Everything is by the book, except I have decreased the Pancetta, because I thought it was a little heavy on the amount. You can get Marsala Wine at Macey's for a couple of bucks - who'd have thought!

Good luck and bon appetite'!

Chicken Marsala

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (5 - 6 oz each), fat trimmed

1 cup flour

Salt and pepper

2 Tbsp. vegetable oil

2 1/2 oz. pancetta (I'd use 1.5oz.), cut into 1 by 1/8-inch pieces

8 oz. white mushrooms, sliced (about 2 cups)

1 med. garlic clove, minced or pressed

1 tsp. tomato paste

1 1/2 cup sweet Marsala

1 1/2 Tbsp. lemon juice from large lemon

4 Tbsp. butter, cut into 4 pieces

2 Tbsp. fresh parsley leaves, minced

1. Adjust an oven rack to the lower-middle position, place a large heatproof dinner plate on the rack and heat the oven to 200 degrees.

2. Pat the chicken breasts dry. Place the flour in a shallow baking dish or pie plate. Season both sides of the chicken cutlets with salt and pepper to taste. Working with one cutlet at a time, coat both sides with flour. Lift the breast from the tapered end and shake to remove excess flour; set aside.

3. Meanwhile, heat the oil in a 12 inch heavy bottomed skillet over medium-high heat until shimmering. Place the floured cutlets in a single layer in the skillet and cook until golden brown, about 3 minutes. Using tongs, turn the cutlets and cook on the second side until golden brown and the meat feels firm when pressed with a finger, about 3 minutes longer. Transfer the chicken to the heated plate and return the plate to the oven.

4. Return the skillet to low heat and add the pancetta. Saute', stirring occasionally and scraping the pan bottom with a wooden spoon to loosen the browned bits, until the pancetta is browned and crisp, about 4 minutes. With a slotted spoon, transfer the pancetta to paper towels to drain.

5. Add the mushrooms to the pan and increase the heat to medium-high. Saute', stirring occasionally and scraping the pan bottom, until the liquid released by the mushrooms evaporates and the mushrooms begin to brown, about 8 minutes. Add the garlic, tomato paste, and cooked pancetta and cook, stirring constantly, until the tomato paste begins to brown, about 1 minute. Off the heat, add the Marsala. Return the pan to high heat and simmer vigorously, scraping the browned bits from the pan bottom, until the sauce is slightly syrupy and reduced to about 1/1/4 cups, about 5 minutes. Off the heat, add the lemon juice and any accumulated juices from the chicken. Whisk in the butter, 1 Tbsp. at a time, until incorporated. Stir in parsley and season with salt and pepper to taste. Pour the sauce over the chicken and serve immediately.

The Winner Is......

Okay everyone, it's the moment you have all been waiting for! I know you haven't been able to think of anything else for the last week. It is time for me to announce the winner of the Chocolate Giveaway.
First let me tell you how the winner was chosen:
I counted everyone's first comment and disregard any comment made from someone who had already posted. That made 9 comments. Then I went to Random.org and entered 1 through 9 and their system randomly chose the winning number.
True Random Number Generator Min: 1 Max:9 Result: 7
So the winning post is number 7. I then went through the posts by the time entered.
1-Maghann: 3/19 @ 3:32 pm
2-Kougarfan: 3/19 @ 4:53 pm
3-Buttercup: 3/19 @ 6:11 pm
4-ilikehears: 3/19 @ 7:44 pm
5- ABranch: 3/20 @ 5:51 am
6-Stephanie: 3/20 @ 10:30 am
7-D: 3/20 @ 10:31 am
8-Casi: 3/21 @ 5:00 pm
9-Patricia: 3/21 @ 8:36pm

D is my mother-in-law Diana. So mom I will put the Target card in the mail today and you can go buy some chocolate. It might add a little joy to your crazy days with the doctors and everything.
And for all those who didn't win...wait until the middle of next month and we'll have another one. Maybe you'll win that one. Thanks again for participating in my giveaway.

Hurray, Hurray, it's a Giveaway!!

I have been in envy of blogs that have so many viewers that they get money from advertisers. I wouldn't really want hordes of people reading my special posts, but what I do wish is that I got money so I could do occassional giveaways.

Well, I got thinking today...Why not do a giveaway? Okay, so I can't give a Wii or a trip, but I can give something. Sooo.....

The post following this is all about chocolate, so yummy. Everyone who leaves a comment on that post and names their favorite chocolate and their favorite chocolate dessert will be entered into a random drawing for a $10 gift card to Target to buy European chocolate. The drawing will be on March 27th, at 2pm, so that's over a week. (Winning post will be chosen by Random.com.)

I chose Target because everyone has access to this store and because it carries more European chocolate (at an affordable price) than any store, at least here Utah. So comment away and you could win CHOCOLATE! Yippie! I get to give away a prize! I love it!

Ga Ga for Chocolate!

One thing that always makes me happy is CHOCOLATE!! After years of nibbling, sampling, and engorging myself in this delectable dessert from heaven, I feel I am qualified to give a professional opinion on what is the best of the best in the chocolate world (Can I live there, please?).

Best Chocolate bars:

Sorry America, but you just don't cut it. European chocolate is where it's at. Even Carrefour (a french Walmart-type store) has a better store brand than Hershey's. This photo shows a typical chocolate bar aisle in Carrefour's grocery section. Why oh why can't we have this here? There are over 25 different kinds of Lindt bars, which include: pear, peach, and even chili. Lindt is premium chocolate. My very favorite chocolate bar is a white chocolate bar from the Swiss company Frey. It is White Blueberry and you can actually find it at Target!!! (pause for the happy dance). It is even on sale this week for $1.67, and so worth the price.

The best chocolate chips for eating, baking, melting and just about anything you can think of is Guittard, which you can find at any grocery store for around $2.99. These chips are made with cream and a high cocoa butter content. Many professional chefs use this, and I suppose what's good enough for me can be good enough for them.

Other favorite chocolates are Lindor Balls, the milk chocolate with white cream centers are my favorite, but are usually only found during the holidays. Of the boxed chocolates, See's chocolate is the only way to go. My favorite pieces are the Milk Cocoanut and the Strawberry, but who can really stop at just two, they are all soooo delicious.

Our family has had a lot of fun with those overly popular chocolate fountains. I think Paul shows us how chocolate is truly meant to be enjoyed.

Humor of No Sleep

I haven't been getting a lot of sleep lately - working late shifts, bad habits, etc. - and I'm getting a little loopy. I get up early to take Matthew to his bus stop. This morning I just threw on a shirt and ran out the door. It is now almost noon and I still haven't got dressed for the day. I happened to pass by a mirror and finally looked at myself. Not only is my shirt on backwards, but it is inside out as well! Thankfully no visitors today!

Jensen took my picture to show you my Oops for the day. Then he wanted his turn, so here we both are: a bit crazy, but doing fine!

Food Fabulous Food

If you ever stop and think of all the food choices we have, you could be stupefied. Holy Extravaganza Batman! I love food! I revel in cooking extravagant and delicious recipes. The "what's for dinner" stuff...not a big fan; but even then some of that can be pretty great.

I can get lost in a fabulous cookbook. I'll sit in bed and read those instead of a novel some days. My all-time favorite is "The New Best Recipe" by Cook's Illustrated. I'm a fan of all the Cook's Illustrated publication wonders actually. The chefs have tested many recipes of beloved favorites and popular staples, and choose, and often perfect the best one. They even taste test ingredients, as well as try out the different cooking tools and give a review on them, and which brand to buy. They do the work so we don't have to. Love it!

There are many amazing food magazines, but my favorite is Chocolatier. Unfortunately, it doesn't exist any more, but it has been combined into what promises to be another irresistible wonder, Dessert Professional. It now gives tips and recipes, etc. for chocolate and pastry, which is a very tempting combination. If you go to the website: http://www.dessertprofessional.com/ you can see a video on an chocolate Octopus' Garden - How do they do it?!

Now, many of you know that I love to give Garden Tea Parties. I feel so la-de-dah when I give them, so it's vanity and a good time that keeps me interested...but as anyone who has come can tell you, they are so FUN. (I'll have to do a post - yippie!) A perfect specialty cookbook is "Celebrating Tea". My mouth starts watering just thinking about it.

Over the weekend I attended a family dinner. One of the ladies there brought a scrumptious salad. Since I'm posting about food and recipes today, I thought I'd share the recipe. It is inspired by a salad from a restaurant. I was told the ingredients and then came up with the amounts. Feel free to adjust and change at will.

Strawberry Spring Salad

1 bag of lettuce, "Spring" variety

1 cup red grapes, halved

1 pint, or 2 cups strawberries sliced

1/2 cup chopped cashews

or for variety, 1 cup carmelized slivered almonds*

1/4 cup dried Cranberries, optional

2 chicken breasts, cooked, and chopped

1 bottle BRIANNAS Home Style Blush Wine Vinaigrette salad dressing

Place lettuce in bowl. Add the rest of the ingredients except the dressing, and toss to mix well. Lightly drizzle dressing over the top. I would only use half of the bottle at first, you can always add more, but you can't remove any. Serve and enjoy. Serves 4, large portions, or eight side dishes.

To Make Carmelized Almonds:

Place 6 Tbsp sugar and 1 cup sliced almonds in frying pan over med. high heat. Stir constantly so sugar doesn't burn, until dissolved. The first few minutes go slow, but don't be fooled. Once it gets going it cooks FAST and will burn. I know from experience. Remove from heat and spoon over lightly oiled wax paper. When cool, crumble into pieces. Use on salads and avoid the temptation to eat them all then and there!

Project Phenomenal

I mentioned earlier that I am a fan of Project Runway. I am also a fan of creativity and talent in others. Have you noticed that there is something amazing in everyone you meet. So much to learn from each other and so little time....But I digress. The great thing about the show Project Runway is watching the genius of designers expressed with so little time. How do they do that? I am an average seamstress, but I find joy in the attempt. I often start a project, rarely finish, but keep trying anyway. When I am gearing up to sew something, I put on Project Runway to motivate me. I even tried my hand at designing my own dress. The material was to die for, the design, well, it was just plain dead. Didn't quite turn out. Wore it a few times and then donated it to a second hand store. Still, the thrill is still smoldering inside of me and it ignites everytime I watch a Project Runway episode. Hmm...I feel my creative juices flowin' just thinking about it. Maybe I'll go finish something.

This dress took only

two days to design and sew!

What?!!

There were two working on it

though, but still! Wow!

Here is an Indian style dress

I finished thanks to PR, it took over a week and came with a pattern, but hey..(Special thanks to my

sexy model, Stephanie)

Terrific Threes

Three year olds are great! Paul and I are constantly amazed at the antics of our son. The way his mind thinks, the phrases he picks up, and his unorthodox reasoning, keep us in stitches. Right now he is sitting by my bed with the box of wipes open. He needed to wipe his face, I guess, so his method is to take wipes one by one, roll them into a ball, and smear them around his face. He is on about number 6. After he has used one, he shakes it out and lays it back in the box. He's learning to recycle.
For dinner we had Shrimp Pasta Primavera. Here is our experience with our 3 year old. "I don't like crab!!" "It's not crab, honey. It's shrimp. You like shrimp." "No, it's ucky." The rest of the family eats, he only touches his drink and stomps off. Later we are having ice cream for dessert. "I want some ice cream." "Okay, but you have to eat your dinner." "NO! It's UCKY!" More time passes. Now it's time for bargaining and compromise. We will warm it and put butter on the noodles and he agrees to eat it, well, most of it. He sits down looks at the food and changes his mind. Paul has the brilliant idea to cover his eyes. Who would have thought it, but this works! Of course he has to eat every bite with his eyes covered with Paul's hand, but hey, we're not complaining, he's even eating some of the "crab". Half way through our son starts quoting Star Wars and says before each bite "Lock on target" in his serious voice. Paul and I are thoroughly entertained. Who needs to spend $50 on dinner and a movie when you have a bundle of entertainment all rolled up into a little 3 year old.
My 3 year old makes me happy.