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A recipe in this post earned itself the following shiny badges:

Being expected to share cooking duties with someone is a challenging experience. Especially when that someone can actually cook super tasty things, and has a much lower tolerance for eating crap just because you decided to try something new.

So when you spend an hour cooking something that he readily proclaims is delicious, IT’S LIKE FOURTH OF FREAKIN’ JULY. On a weekday no less!

What is this miracle dish you managed to not ruin, you ask? Chicken Marsala, from a recipe penned by the ever-popular Emeril (or his team of test-kitchen minions), even though I didn’t have about half of the ingredients and I used a big-ass jug of cabernet instead of marsala wine, because, to be honest, what’s the point of paying to cook with wine if you can’t drink it at the same time (see “classy”).  Without further ado: The Best Recipe for Convincing Your Boyfriend He Didn’t Make A Mistake Sharing A Kitchen With You, with my helpful notes in italics.

Chicken Marsala (helpfully rated “easy”)

Ingredients

  • 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1 tablespoon Essence, recipe follows
  • 2 (6 to 8-ounce) boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut in halves and pounded thin
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 4 tablespoons butter (this is why the BF liked the recipe. See BUTTAH)
  • 3 cups sliced mushrooms (cremini, oyster, shiitake) (whatever was on sale at Ralph’s)
  • 3/4 cup Marsala of a humongo jug of cab sav
  • 1 cup chicken stock bouillon you accidentally bought for a recipe last year and haven’t used since
  • Salt and freshly ground black pepper
  • Chopped chives, for garnish

Directions

In a shallow bowl or plate combine the flour and Essence and stir to combine thoroughly. Quickly dredge the chicken breast halves in the seasoned flour mixture, shaking to remove any excess flour.

Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat until very hot but not smoking it smokes and you realize it’s not supposed to smoke so you turn it back down. Add 1 tablespoon of the butter and cook the chicken breasts until golden brown on both sides, about 3 minutes per side. Transfer to a plate and set aside. Admire how pretty it looks. 

Add 1 tablespoon of the remaining butter to the pan and add the mushrooms. Cook, stirring frequently, until mushrooms are golden brown around the edges and have given off their liquid. Add the Marsala  Jug wine and bring to a boil, scraping to remove any browned bits from the bottom of the pan wondering why there aren’t any of these “browned bits” in your pan. When the wine has reduced by half, add the chicken stock and cook for 3 minutes, or until the sauce has thickened slightly. Add some flour if you have no clue if it’s thick enough. 

Lower the heat to medium and return the chicken breasts to the pan and continue to cook until they are cooked through and the sauce has thickened, about 5 to 6 minutes. Swirl in the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter, think about all the butter you added, add salt and pepper, to taste. Garnish with chopped chives and serve immediately feeling very proud of yourself.

Essence (Emeril’s Creole Seasoning):

  • 2 1/2 tablespoons paprika
  • 2 tablespoons salt
  • 2 tablespoons garlic powder
  • 1 tablespoon black pepper
  • 1 tablespoon onion powder
  • 1 tablespoon cayenne pepper
  • 1 tablespoon dried leaf oregano
  • 1 tablespoon dried thyme

Combine all ingredients thoroughly and store in an airtight jar or container. Don’t make ahead of time and just wing it into the flour.

 

Now the dilemma is whether I return to attempting Bon Appetit and obscure blogger recipes way over my head, or stick with the friendly, normal people at Food Network who helpfully rate this recipe “easy.” Sheesh.

The breakdown:

 

 

 

 A new badge! A boozey badge! Cooking with wine is fun and rewarding!

 

 Happy roommates/eating partner! A success!

 Overall, a win! Hooray!