Chicken Marsala and the Glory of the 'Shroom

Last Friday Carey and I began a more-than-treacherous journey to York, PA to visit Kelly and Chad (Kelly is Carey's sister and Chad is her fiancee/my very close friend). We left Downtown at about 3:45 PM and eventually arrived at their house at 9:30 PM. The journey usually takes approximately 3 hours and 45 minutes but we were blasted by the snow storm that paralyzed the entire eastern seaboard which resulted in a painfully slow pace across Pennsylvania on the turnpike. We thought about canceling the trip, but what kind of friend would I be if I let a little precipitation come between us? To make a long story short, we arrived safely on Friday night, stayed up entirely too late and drank entirely too much but had a really great time. The following day (after shoveling more snow than I care to mention), I was given the privilege of making dinner for the four of us. Thankfully Kelly had all of the necessary ingredients for a timeless classic - Chicken Marsala.

I have never made this dish, and to be honest, I never order it when I'm at restaurants because I've never had a version that knocked my socks off. As it turns out, though, this dish isn't meant to deliver the bold flavors that I seek when diving into new culinary adventures. I think that I have been selling myself short because each bite of the final product grew on me and by the time I was done with my first serving I wanted more.

Strangely, my first bite of the final product resulted in a request for salt. I know that I tasted/seasoned the layers of flavor as I cooked but I felt as though there was something missing. It wasn't until I recognized the intention of this classic before I appreciated the subtle flavors of mushroom and wine.

To digress for just a moment, I'd like to discuss a rule in economics called The Law of Diminishing Marginal Utility, which can best be illustrated by consuming candy bars. If you love chocolate, I will assume that you love Snickers bars. When you eat one Snickers, you love it and want another, so you unwrap that second chocolaty treat. After two, you still like them but not as much as you did before your first; you may eat a third, but that third Snickers doesn't taste as good as the first. The fourth definitely doesn't taste as good as the first and the fifth makes you sick. This is The Law of Diminishing Marginal Utility.

I think that my experience with Chicken Marsala broke the aforementioned rule. Each bite left me wanting more, mainly because of the hint of compounded and well constructed flavors created by the earthy ingredients. I only stopped because I like to think I have manners and I'm still trying to lose a few pounds.

There are countless methods on the internet to make this dish and I couldn't tell you which is best/worst/easiest/most difficult. I can, however, tell you how we had it and I will give it a solid 3 out of 4 stars. The breakdown goes a little like this:

• Prepare boneless/skinless chicken breasts by beating the meat (that's what she said) to approximately 1/2 of an inch
• Dredge said breasts in seasoned flour (salt, pepper, dried oregano, cayenne pepper) and let sit for about 30 minutes
• Heat skillet to med-high, add EV olive oil and about 1 T butter
• Brown chicken in hot oil/butter mix, about 4-5 minutes on each side (set aside in baking dish and place in oven to keep warm)
• Drain excess oil from skillet, keeping the 'bits' on the bottom of the pan
• Deglaze pan with another T of butter, add shallot (season with salt and pepper) and sautee until tender
• Add a flavorful mushroom (sliced), such as baby 'bellas, cremini, oyster, or shiitake (more than you think you need as they will cook down), sautee until they release their moisture and begin to brown
• Add about 1c of Marsala wine (or a mix of white wine that you may have on hand and some cooking sherry), cook for a few minutes to allow the alcohol to burn off (taste, and season again with salt and pepper if necessary)
• Add about 1c chicken stock (in a box is fine but you know how I feel about homemade!)
• Add another 2T of butter and let the liquid reduce by about one half (if you want, you could probably add some heavy cream or half and half at this point)
• Obviously you want to taste/season as necessary here
• Place your chicken breasts on a platter and top with the pan sauce/mushroom mixture
• Top with freshly chopped parsley (because parsley makes it fancy)

I think that Carey, Kel and Chad enjoyed it; I'm definitely craving it now after writing about the experience. Although this dish is easy, it is one that has multiple steps so I probably wouldn't jump into it after work on a Tuesday. I do think that it would be good to serve a crowd with a good starch, a steamed veg and maybe a salad, which is how we enjoyed this dinner. If you do decide to make it, I would recommend looking through a few recipes because there are SO many variations out there (I'm sure most are better than mine). I'd love to get some suggestions from the few people who may read this post - This one probably has plenty of room for improvement.

Try it, though, and enjoy the glory of the wine and the 'shroom!

Making the Most of Leftover Salmon - In "Cake" Form

I'm not going to mess around too much with tonight's post because there really was only one good thing about dinner - the salmon cake. Let me begin by saying that I've never had one before so I really don't have anything to compare mine to. Also, I didn't have high hopes because the name alone reminds me of something that would generally come out of a can.

I have to admit, the salmon cakes surpassed my expectations. They were easy (I prepared them last night) and satisfying. I might even say that they are just as good as a properly prepared crab cake made with jumbo lump. I made these with some things that I had on-hand, and I wouldn't change a thing.

To start, I perused a few recipes on the internet (particularly one of Ina Garten's) to get a feel for the basic necessities. I added/substituted a few of my own flavors, and the end result was pretty dang tasty.

I had about 1/2 of a salmon fillet that I seasoned with EV olive oil, kosher salt, and freshly ground pepper. After baking it to a med-rare, I let it cool, removed the skin and flaked it into small chunks. To finish the cakes, I mixed the flaked fish with a dressing made with some simple ingredients, baked them until warmed through (25 minutes at 350 degrees).

Here's the ingredient list for the dressing:

• About 1 cup of breadcrumbs (from stale bread, crust removed)
• 1/2 of a large red bell pepper (finely chopped)
• 1/2 of a bunch of green onion (finely chopped)
• 1 large stalk of celery (finely chopped)
• 1 small hand-full of small capers (rinsed well)
• Old Bay seasoning
• Cayenne pepper
• 2 cloves of garlic (finely chopped)
• 1 egg (beaten)
• Zest of one lemon
• Salt and pepper, to taste

I gently folded in the flaked salmon, loosely formed them into cakes, then baked them on a cookie sheet (with foil) until they were hot.

One other home run was the sauce that I used to top the cakes. I had some chimichurri (parsley/salt/pepper/garlic/EV olive oil) in the fridge that I whisked with a little bit of mayo, some Dijon mustard, lemon juice and cayenne pepper. It off-set the flavor of the salmon well and was a really nice addition.

I'll definitely be making this one again.

Vietnamese Chicken Rice Soup with Lemon Grass (Shnor Chrook)

Tonight I tried a (gasp) recipe from a Vietnamese cookbook that Carey picked up the other day at Borders. I honestly know NOTHING about East Asian cuisine so I need all the help I can get. Dinner was definitely good but I would make a few adjustments next time I make this soup.

According to this book, Shnor Chrook is Cambodia's answer to the chicken noodle soup that is popular in the West. This dish definitely is reminiscent of the Western standard, but it is much more pungent due to the addition of a fermented fish sauce, lemongrass, and chillies, which take it to another dimension.

This is a two-fold process; the stock is made and strained then the rice is cooked in the flavorful broth with a few small additions. Here's the recipe:

• Put a whole chicken into a deep pan
• Add 1 onion (quartered), a few cloves of garlic (smashed), a good hunk of fresh ginger (sliced), 2 lemongrass stalks (halved lengthwise and bruised), 2 red chillies, a couple of tablespoons of nuoc mam (fermented fish sauce)
• Add just enough cold water to cover all the goodies in your pot
• Bring pot to a simmer and let cook for a couple of hours with the lid on

After the stock is done, pull the chicken out and remove the meat from the bones. Shred the chicken meat and set aside (this is going to be re-added to the soup at the last minute). Strain the stock through a wire mesh strainer and put the liquid back into the pot.

• Once you have your strained stock back in the original pot, bring it to a boil and add about 1/2 of a cup of short grain rice.
• Reduce to a simmer and cook the rice with a few more stocks of lemongrass (halved and bruised) and another good dash of fish sauce.
• When the rice is done, ladle that glory into a bowl with a good amount of the reserved shredded chicken and a good hand full of chopped cilantro.
• Serve with sliced chillies and a wedge of lime.

A couple things to point out about this soup... those Thai chillies are really freaking hot. I thought I was some kind of tough guy and added more sliced red chillies as a garnish and I'm still feeling it (2 hours later). Another thing you might notice is the pungent smell of the fish sauce; it did freak me out but the flavor was outstanding and the soup wouldn't be the same without it. Lastly, don't skimp on the cilantro and the lime at the end; those additions really brighten the whole thing and make it a very unique meal.

I'm really looking forward to diving further into this book - I think I'll have a lot of good things coming.

I *heart* Taco Night

I don't think I'm alone when I say that I love tacos. Maybe it's because of the smorgasbord of delights that are laid out when you eat them, maybe it's because you can customize each one to your liking, or maybe because they are just really delicious. Taco night at our house doesn't happen often, but when it does we make sure to pull all the stops; starting with fresh tortillas from Reyna Foods and building up from there.

Reyna actually makes their tortillas in-house daily - the bag I purchased was still warm when I took them to the counter. This Mexican-centric market has everything you would need to make any south-of-the-border dish including dried peppers, various rices, beans, spices and beverages that are not commonly found in our region.

I have to admit, I took a little short cut with this dinner by picking up a rotisserie chicken from Costco; I pulled the breast meat from the bone and shredded it then braised the shredded meat in some tomato juice with toasted cumin, coriander, lime juice and chili powder that I made from the aforementioned dried peppers (I think I already mentioned this in a previous post).

Two other distinctly important components to this dinner are guacamole and salsa. Both of these condiments are extremely easy to make and the taste of homemade guac/salsa is SO much better than the store-bought variety. I started with the salsa by roasting a jalapeno, serrano, and an arbol chile on the flame of the stove-top; after the skins are charred, let the peppers cool and scrape away some of the char (it doesn't have to be completely clean, as the char adds a nice, smoky flavor). Finely chop the peppers along with a small red onion, a handful of cilantro, a clove of garlic and about 12 oz of tomatoes. Toss everything with the juice of a lime and a bit of canola oil. It's very refreshing and has just enough kick for Carey and me.

The guacamole is even easier: scoop out the contents of an avocado and mush it up with some lime juice, salt, and a bit of the salsa that was just made and you're golden. Avocados are really good for you as well (in moderation).

Carey and I have different approaches when it comes to eating the tacos. She builds them all at once and digs in. On the other hand, I put all the goodies on the plate along with some tortillas and use the tear & scoop method (this is what they do in Mexico... it makes me feel a little more authentic).

Regardless of how these babies are eaten, they are always really good and VERY simple to make; this is one I would recommend to anyone.