Chicken Marsala

At our church my wife and I have cooked for Lent or Advent dinners quite often Chicken Marsala and everyone loved it. Here are some tips and the recipe to cook this easy dish for friends and family.

Please note that my recipe is somewhat different from the original recipe, which I believe makes it much better. I do not hammer the meat flat, like the Italians do with chicken breast, I only bread it slightly with flour as I use usually chicken tenders.

Outside of Italy, you can find Marsala wine at most grocery stores, but it is usually very light colored. I prefer to use a heavy and dark red wine, which provides a much nicer color. Use a sweet wine, like Florida wine, or just add some sugar.

Ingredients:

2 pounds of chicken tenders or chicken breast (I prefer chicken tenders to chicken breast as it is more tender, but use what you can get. You find chicken tenders easily at Sam's, Costco, and even at Aldi). If you have to use chicken breast either hammer it to make it thinner or cut it into two pieces before breading.
4 cups of cleaned and sliced mushrooms (I love to use cremini, if I get them, otherwise use any smaller mushroom)
3 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons oil (vegetable oil, corn oil, sun-flour oil, or similar)
4 garlic cloves (use garlic press or cut into small pieces with a knive)
2 tablespoons of Italian herb mix, Herbs de Provence, or Oregano (use what you have or easily find)
Salt and pepper according to taste
Chopped parsley (use after cooking is finished)
2 cups of chicken stock/broth (if you are on a low-salt diet, use no salt added broth)
1 cup of Marsala wine (use any sweet red wine, if you do not have Marsala wine, use a dark red wine instead, works fine, just add a dash of sugar)

Preperation:

Check the chicken tenders if there are any parts to be trimmed off. The better you trim meat, the better the dish.
Combine the flour with salt and pepper and mix it.
Place the chicken into the mix and remove it , make sure to remove any excess flour.
Heat the oil in a pan with butter and oil. Do not overheat. When hot, add the chicken tenders, slightly brown them on one side, then turn.
Add the mushrooms and garlic and cook them for a minute or two.
Add the wine and the chicken broth/stock.
Let simmer on slow heat or place it in the oven (in a covered pot or cover any pan with parchment paper and then aluminum foil. Aluminum should not have direct contact with the food as it will oxidize.) Use 275 degrees for an hour.
Before serving the chicken remove it from the pan and thicken the gravy with flour or corn starch.
Add the finely chopped parsley to decorate. It also adds some great flavor.
Serve with rice, or pasta if you prefer.

This way you can prepare the food for your dinner guests in advance and just have to cook the pasta just before your guests arrive.

Be creative, you can also used a tender steak or pork tenderloins for the dish, but then you cannot store it in the oven as you do not want fully cooked steak. Italians often use veal instead of chicken.