Chicken Marsala with homegrown shiitake mushrooms

The title of this one is a little misleading I know. Here are the facts. 1. This is chicken Marsala and 2. The mushrooms were homegrown... Just not my home! We have some amazing friends who gave growing shiitake mushrooms a shot this year. They got the logs, drilled the holes, and inserted the spores. Months later these amazing shrooms showed up at my home. 

Look at them they are by far the most amazing mushrooms I've ever laid eyes on! 

Anyways when the text came in from my hubby that our friend Joe had some of these for me I knew what was for dinner instantly. I thawed chicken breast and now had these beautys, chicken Marsala it is. Here is a very cliff notes ( I don't think these are even around anymore) version of mine since I usually don't measure, and make it from memory.

Ingridents

2 chicken breast, sliced in half lengthwise

8 ounces sliced shiitake mushrooms

4 tablespoons olive oil

4 tablespoons unsalted butter

1/3 cup plus 1 Tablespoon AP flour 

Salt 

Pepper

1/2 cup marsala wine

2/3 cup chicken stock

I clove garlic, minced

2 tablespoons shallots, minced

Ok here we go!

First salt and pepper your sliced chicken breast.

Then dredge them in flour, and shake off the excess.

Heat up the skillet with 2 Tablespoons of the oil and 1 Tablespoon of the butter. Let it get hot and foamy then carefully lay your floured chicken breast in.

Cook your chicken for 4 minutes, your shooting for a light browning and you will see the color change from translucent to opaque on the chicken about half way up.

Next flip your chicken breast over and cook for another 4 minutes ont he other side.

Remove the chicken from the pan and set on a plate. The chicken is not cooked all the way through yet. I repeat... The chicken is NOT cooked yet! 

In the same pan with the golden brown bits O' chicken, add in another tablespoon of olive oil and 1 more tablespoon of butter. 

Add in your sliced mushrooms. And arrange in as single if a layer as you can get. As Julia Child would say " don't crowd the mushrooms"

Cook them until they are golden brown and happy!

Add them to the plate with the chicken. The chicken is still not cooked yet! 

Now add the last Tablespoon of oil to the pan and sauté your shallots and garlic for about a minute. You just want them to softened a bit.

Next we are going to sprinkle the remaining tablespoon of flour over it and create a roux. 

Stir it to create a thick paste. This is going to thicken our sauce.

Add in The Marsala and chicken stock and whisk until it just begins to thicken.

Now back in the pan goes the chicken and mushrooms to cook with a lid on for about 10 minutes. Turn your heat down to medium for this step. 

Your chicken will nestle into the sauce and everything will get so yummy. Then right before you serve it remove the chicken breast and add in remaining butter.

Your sauce will get glossy and rich. Season with salt and pepper to taste. If it's too thick add a little more stock to thin it out.

I like to serve my chicken with whole wheat egg noodles to utilize every drop of the sauce. A sprinkle of parsley would be nice to, but I was not going out in a downpour just for parsley. 

Serve it up and if your REALLY lucky you will get a stellar review from your teenager as I did.

"it's amazing that a decomposer can taste so good"

- J. Burger

Happy Cooking!