Stuffed Chicken Marsala

Cheese Stuffing 
1/2  8 oz. package Italian blend shredded cheeses
1 cup mozzarella cheese, shredded
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese, grated
1/2 cup breadcrumbs
1 tsp fresh garlic, minced
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes, crushed
½ red bell pepper, finely chopped
1/3 cup green onions, thinly sliced
3/4 cup sour cream (6 oz)
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper

Sauce
1/2 large yellow small onion, finely chopped
1-2 cloves garlic, minced
2 cups Marsala wine
1 cup heavy cream
1 8 oz container of mushrooms, thinly sliced
Salt and pepper, Garlic powder, & Oregano to taste

Other Ingredients

2 lbs skinless, boneless chicken breasts

4 fl oz olive oil for frying

2 cups all-purpose flour

Pre-heat oven to 350°F and have a baking dish ready.

Combine all the cheese stuffing ingredients in a mixing bowl and set aside.[1]

To prepare the chicken, butterfly the thickest section of chicken breasts to create 2 halves that are connected at center. Place each breast in a large storage bag and pound it with the flat side of a meat mallet until ¼” – ½” thick.

Place flour in a shallow pan and season to taste with salt and pepper. Dredge stuffed chicken breasts in flour, shaking off excess.

Place the flattened chicken breasts on a plate and add a desired amount of cheese stuffing on one half of each chicken breast. Try not to overfill. Gently press stuffing down and fold over other half of chicken breast; it does not have to seal.

In a cast iron skillet over medium heat, add oil and heat until shimmering.

Sauté the flour coated chicken breasts in the preheated oil, cooking until each side is golden brown. Remove chicken from pan and place in the baking dish you have on hand.

Bake the browned chicken in the preheated oven for 10-20 minutes, or until juices run clear and the center of chicken reaches 165°F.

Meanwhile, add the onions and garlic to the cast iron skillet and stir to loosen chicken drippings. After 2 minutes, add mushrooms and fresh chopped parsley (optional). Sauté until the onions are translucent and the mushrooms begin to caramelize.

Add the Marsala wine to the skillet to de-glaze the pan – make sure to incorporate drippings from bottom of pan. Allow the Marsala to come to a simmer and then add the heavy cream. Simmer on low heat until reduced by half. Place the cooked chicken breasts on a plate and top each with this Marsala-mushroom sauce.

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[1] * You may have some extra cheese stuffing leftover. One way to use it up is to top slices of Italian bread and bake until the cheese melts – it makes a great snack or appetizer! Or use it as a cold or hot dip!

Shrimp Creole over Linguine

I just finished eating this dish myself, and do I feel satisfied! My house smells of a Louisiana kitchen and my taste buds are blissful. The following recipe, may I warn you, can be pretty spicy. Depending on your preference, note to be careful about the amount of cayenne pepper you add to this dish, as the Cajun spice already adds a slight kick to it. These measurements should serve 5-7 people.

Ingredients

• 1 pound raw, peeled large shrimp, thawed
• 1 medium onion, diced
• 1 zucchini, cut to half-moons
• 1 green bell pepper, julienned
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 can diced tomatoes (or you can use fresh tomatoes)
• 1 can tomato sauce
• 2 Tablespoons olive oil
• 2 Tablespoons butter
• 1 box (16 oz.) linguine noodles
• boiling water
• 1 1/2 Tablespoons Cajun seasoning (I used Tony Chachere’s this time)
• 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
• salt & pepper (to taste)
• cayenne pepper (from a pinch to 1/4 teaspoon–which was very spicy, but that’s how the man likes it)

Directions

1. After prepping your vegetables, start boiling the water in a large pot to cook the linguine. (I usually add a little canola oil and salt to the water.)
2. Heat the olive oil in a large saute pan, add the garlic and saute until the garlic becomes aromatic, do not burn!
3. Add the onion, zucchini, and green pepper. Saute the vegetables for 3 to 4 minutes. You do not want to overcook the vegetables by letting them soften.
4. The water should be boiled, so add your linguine and cook for about 8 minutes.
5. Add the diced tomatoes and tomato sauce to the vegetables. Stir around so that the dish looks like a chunky soup.
6. Add the Cajun seasoning, cayenne pepper, and thyme. Stir occasionally, letting reach a slight boil. Taste sauce before the next step. Correct seasoning. (Add more seasoning if desired, and/or salt & pepper.)
7. Add the shrimp to the creole. Make sure to stir the shrimp into the sauce so that they can cook thoroughly, as you do not need to cover this while it cooks. Cook until shrimp are pink.
8. The pasta should be cooked, if so, drain and return to pot. Keep the pot off of heat. Mix in butter to the noodles. This adds a lot of extra flavor to the dish, and keeps the noodles fresh if the shrimp take longer than expected.
9. Serve by portioning out pasta onto plate and covering with shrimp and vegetable creole. (I also topped this with freshly chopped parsley for presentation and served the dish with a small croissant.)
10. ENJOY!

The Idea of Measurement

As the years have passed and I’ve become more familiar with kitchen vocabulary, I stopped using measurements. Most of the time, just looking around the kitchen to see what is available for use and creating a masterpiece with leftovers and bits of whatever spice/herb I see fit for the meal, disregarding any spoon or cup, relying completely on taste of the new food experiment. This is fun, but not necessarily reliable for repetition of the dish. So, starting this blog, I must now take extra steps to measure exactly what I use. I didn’t even know how many measuring gadgets I had until looking in the forbidden cupboard!

I’ve decided for the first official recipe I post, I will make something that I’ve never seen on another site, my late aunt’s recipe for shrimp creole over linguine. My aunt and uncle used to frequent a restaurant in the city nearby, but it was quite a drive, so my aunt decided to figure out the recipe for herself. (She also relied only on taste.) So, to share this recipe with the world, I will make it for dinner this evening and *gasp* measure out the ingredients.

Here We Go!

 

With the appropriate title of this first blog entry, I will explain that our household just picked up a Wii, along with Mario Kart, and cooking has been a little more on the back burner. (Ha! Quite the pun!)

 

Although! I just watched Julie & Julia (which yes, gave me the idea for the blog, it looked pretty fun), and picked up my copy of Mastering the Art of French Cooking by Julia Child, Louisette Bertholle, and Simone Beck. My favorite dessert recipe, which was also shown in the movie, is the Reine De Saba with Glacage au Chocolat. The “Queen of Sheba” chocolate and almond cake with chocolate-butter icing. A simple and absolutely delicious recipe! I made this cake without a mixer (to me, adding more love to the batter, haha!), and to my surprise it turned out amazing. I had always been bad with baking. Once, I made overly starchy chocolate chip cookies… Yes, the ones with the recipe on the bag. Though, that was nothing compared to the time I tried to make chocolate meringue cookies, and they turned out to be huge, chewy, grey balls of candy. Yes, desserts and moi had been on an agree to disagree agreement. Until, I read this book. Julia Child is by far my favorite teacher of victuals. If any of you have not looked into her recipes, or have not watched “The French Chef” or “Julia and Jacques Cooking at Home”, I highly recommend them. Even if you think you can’t possibly learn another thing about cooking, just watching Julia cook is captivating. She’s so much crazy fun in the kitchen! You can find her chocolate cake recipe most anywhere online. (http://www.food.com/recipe/julia-childs-reine-de-saba-queen-of-sheba-cake-240126) or Watch Julia prepare it herself at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tiOjsx5D7JM. The most important thing is to not let it overcook, as it is supposed to be a very moist cake. Good Luck! Bon Appetit! Happy Serving!