Chicken with Mustard Mascarpone Marsala Sauce

If you ask Dr. Sweetpea what his favorite Italian dish is, it would be Chicken Marsala. He absolutely loves the flavorful Marsala sauce and the tender pieces of chicken. I searched high and low for a great Chicken Marsala recipe that I can make at home and get rave reviews from Dr. Sweetpea. I collected about ten different recipes and finally settled on Giada's Chicken with Mustard Mascarpone Marsala Sauce. It's almost identical to your typical Chicken Marsala but the Mascarpone makes it creamy and the Dijon mustard adds a little bit of a bite. Needless to say Dr. Sweetpea LOVED his meal and wants me to make this for him regularly.

Chicken with Mustard Mascarpone Marsala Sauce 

(Source: Giada De Laurentiis)

1 1/2 pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts, each breast cut crosswise into 3 pieces

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

2 tablespoons olive oil

5 tablespoons butter, divided

3/4 cup sliced onion

1 pound cremini mushrooms, sliced

2 tablespoons minced garlic

1 cup dry Marsala wine

1 cup (8 ounces) mascarpone cheese

2 tablespoons Dijon mustard

2 tablespoons chopped fresh Italian parsley leaves, plus whole sprigs, for garnish

12 ounces dried fettuccine (I served mine with Risotto)

Sprinkle the chicken with salt and pepper. Heat the oil in a heavy large skillet over high heat. Add the chicken and cook just until brown, about 4 minutes per side. Transfer the chicken to a plate and cool slightly.

While the chicken cools, melt 2 tablespoons of butter to the same skillet over medium-high heat, then add the onion and saute until tender, about 2 minutes. Add the mushrooms and garlic and saute until the mushrooms are tender and the juices evaporate, about 12 minutes. Add the wine and simmer until it is reduced by half, about 4 minutes. Stir in the mascarpone and mustard. Cut the chicken breasts crosswise into 1/3-inch-thick slices. Return the chicken and any accumulated juices to the skillet. Simmer, uncovered, over medium-low heat until the chicken is just cooked through and the sauce thickens slightly, about 2 minutes. Stir in the chopped parsley. Season the sauce, to taste, with salt and pepper.

Meanwhile, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the fettuccine and cook until al dente, stirring occasionally, about 8 minutes. Drain. Toss the fettuccine with 3 tablespoons of butter and season, to taste, with salt and pepper. Swirl the fettuccine onto serving plates. Spoon the chicken mixture over top. Garnish with parsley sprigs and serve.

Chicken Marsala Meatballs

I love making meatballs at home since they are super easy to make and they aren't very time consuming. I was watching Giada on the food network a few months ago and saw an episode where she was making Chicken Marsala Meatballs. I saved the recipe and I finally got around to making these gems. Dr. Sweetpea LOVES Chicken Marsala, so I knew these would be something that he would enjoy. I'm super bummed that I waited sooooooooo long to make these! The Chicken Marsala Meatballs were FABULOUS! They were super tender and the sauce was perfect! I did add 2 teaspoons of cornstarch to thicken it up a bit though. I served the meatballs on top of homemade risotto to make it a meal.

Chicken Marsala Meatballs

(Source: Giada De Laurentiis)

1/4 cup panko breadcrumbs

2 tablespoons milk, room temperature

1/3 cup plus 1 tablespoon Marsala wine

1 pound ground white meat chicken

1/4 cup grated pecorino, plus extra for serving

1 large egg, beaten

2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley

1 teaspoon kosher salt

1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

2 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

8 ounces cremini mushrooms, sliced

1 large shallot, minced

1 1/2 teaspoons flour

1 1/4 cups low-sodium chicken broth

Preheat the broiler to high.

In a large bowl, mix together the breadcrumbs, milk and 1 tablespoon Marsala. Leave to soak for 5 minutes. Add the chicken, pecorino, egg, parsley, 1/2 teaspoon of the salt and the pepper. With your hands, gently mix together the ingredients until just combined. Form the mixture into tablespoon-size balls and place on an oiled baking sheet. Broil for 5 minutes, or until the meatballs are beginning to brown and are just barely cooked through. Remove from the oven and set aside.

In a straight-sided skillet, heat 1 tablespoon of the olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the mushrooms and cook, stirring with a wooden spoon, until the mushrooms are brown on all sides, about 5 minutes. Add the shallots and the remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt and cook for another 2 minutes. Lower the heat to medium and stir in the flour and the remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil. Add the 1/3 cup Marsala and stir until the mixture is smooth. Whisk in the chicken broth and simmer for 5 minutes. Add the meatballs to the sauce and simmer for an additional 5 minutes to let the flavors blend. Serve hot, garnished with grated pecorino.

***Edit: 4/12/2015 - I have made this for Dr. Sweetpea several times now over the last few months. I have made a few changes to this recipe, and I think my adjustments creates a more pronounced Marsala flavor. I use 2 large shallots instead of 1. I also double the Marsala wine, so instead of 1/3 cup of Marsala wine, I use 2/3 cups of wine. I reduce the amount of chicken broth to 1 cup. To thicken the sauce, I mix 1 tablespoon of cornstarch with 2 tablespoons of water, create a slurry and mix it in after the chicken meatballs have cooked in the sauce for a few minutes.***

***Edit: 6/13/2015 - I made some more changes to the original recipe and Dr. Sweetpea said this version is the best that he has tasted so far. I doubled the panko in the meatball, so I used 1/2 cup of panko breadcrumbs. I used 2 large shallots instead of 1. To make the sauce more flavorful, I increased the Marsala wine to 1 cup and reduced chicken broth to 1 cup. I simmered the sauce longer so the wine could cook off before adding the chicken meatballs. To thicken the sauce, I mixed 3 tablespoons of wine with 1 tablespoon of corn starch to create a slurry. Then poured that mixture into the skillet to thicken the Marsala sauce.

Almost Hands-Free Risotto

(Source: America's Test Kitchen)

5 cups chicken broth
1 1/2 cups water
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 large onion, chopped fine
Salt and Pepper
1 garlic clove, minced
2 cups Arborio rice
1 cup dry white wine
2 ounces Parmesan Cheese, grated (1 cup)
1 teaspoon lemon juice

Bring broth and water to a boil in large saucepan over high heat. Cover and reduce heat to medium-low to maintain bare simmer. Melt 2 tablespoons butter in Dutch oven over medium heat. Add onion and 3/4 teaspoon salt and cook until onion is softened, 4 - 5 minutes. Stir in garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Stir in rice and cook, stirring often, until grain edges begin to turn translucent, about 3 minutes. Stir in wine and cook, stirring constantly, until fully absorbed, 2 - 3 minutes. Stir in 5 cups hot broth mixture. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer until almost all liquid has been absorbed and rice is just al-dente, 18 - 19 minutes, stirring twice during cooking. Add 3/4 cup hot broth mixture and stir gently and constantly until risotto becomes creamy, about 3 minutes. Stir in parmesan. Remove pot from heat, cover, and let stand for 5 minutes. Stir in remaining 2 tablespoons butter and lemon juice. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Before serving, stir in remaining broth mixture as needed to loosen texture of risotto.