Chicken Marsala

Chicken Marsala Two Ways
I have a new favorite pasta. Normally, I swing back and forth between tomato-based pasta dishes and olive oil or garlicky ones. Last night I took one of my favorite recipes for chicken marsala and turned it into a really good mushroomy bowl of pasta.

There is some magic that occurs when you mix mushrooms, butter, and wine. The flavor just can’t be beat. This is why chicken marsala, (or veal if you want to go traditional) is such a good dish. It seems so fancy—but really, it is simply good comfort food.

The recipe below is the marsala recipe I use when I want to do it straight. (I did add garlic to it). Last night, instead of pounding the chicken breasts into cutlets, I cut them into chunks and browned them before moving on to the rest of the instructions as written. I still added my garlic to the pan with the prosciutto and I may or may not have added just a bit more butter than was asked for.

When everything was all done, I spooned the marsala, sauce and all, over some lightly buttered pasta. It was a flavor bomb of umami awesomeness and a perfect start to the new month. Next time I make this I might try to double the amount of liquid and toss everything together.

Definitely try to get a decent bottle of Marsala wine. It will make all the difference.

Chicken Marsala Recipe
Adapted from Tyler Florence and the Food Network
Yields 4 servings

Here is our adapted version of the original recipe (with garlic!). You can also try it over pasta with the variation at the bottom of the recipe. Read more…

Winter Veggie Cobbler

Cobbled Together
I’ll bet you any amount of money that the first thing you think of when you hear the word cobbler is peaches. Peach and cobbler are two words that are almost always used together. Imagine my surprise when I came across something totally different.

When it comes to vegetable side dishes, I tend to struggle to not make the same things over and over. When it comes to veggies, it’s easy for me to get into a rut. While looking for something else, I found this recipe for a Winter vegetable cobbler, and I must admit I was immediately intrigued. I have rarely seen a cobbler that wasn’t sweet, and I was skeptical that this was just a pot pie in disguise. It’s not. It is a legitimate vegetable cobbler that is great on its own and equally as good as a side dish.

Give this Winter Veggie Cobbler a try some night when you need to use all of the vegetables in the fridge and want something hearty and comforting.

Winter Veggie Cobbler Recipe
Adapted from Saving Dessert
Yields 8 servings Read more…

Weeknight Focaccia

Stippling the dough for our Weeknight Focaccia recipe

A few weeks ago, I made focaccia for dinner on a Tuesday night. Normally, this would be impossible due to time constraints. But I found a Weeknight Focaccia recipe in my cookbook, Savory Baking: Recipes for Breakfast, Dinner, and Everything in Between. This makes it not only possible but pretty easy. It does however require some planning.

Fresh focaccia is one of those things that I just can’t stop eating. And, when I found myself with way too many tomatoes, I figured this would be a good way to use them. I sliced them thin and, after brushing the focaccia with olive oil, I layered them on top with a sprinkle of fresh Italian herbs and some salt before baking. The results made for an amazing mid-week dinner that I paired with a giant salad.

I started the dough on Sunday evening and left it in my fridge until I was ready to use it Tuesday night. You could easily use the dough the next day but the longer stay in the fridge gives the dough a little more time to ferment which gives it more flavor. 48 hours is the max though.

For those who are not tomato fans, you could leave the focaccia plain and sprinkle it with flaky sea salt for crunch, or, my personal favorite, thinly slice some fresh leeks and toss them in a splash of olive oil and salt and pepper then layer them on top before baking. The smell of your kitchen alone would be worth it.

Weeknight Focaccia Recipe
Adapted from Savory Baking: Recipes for Breakfast, Dinner, and Everything in Between.
Yields one 13″ x 18″ sheet pan

This easy-to-prepare bread is chewy, a bit crispy, and wonderfully fluffy. It is great for splitting to make sandwiches and heavenly with a salad and a bowl of soup.

The Weeknight Focaccia dough mixes up fast. And, you can form it in a variety of shapes and sizes. Here we have chosen to use a sheet pan. And, note that the bread needs to rise in the fridge anywhere from overnight to 48 hours—you choose. The longer it rises the more flavorful the loaf. Read more…

Coffee-Braised Short Rib Pasta

Comfort Me With Coffee
Even though it is still rather warm out, you can tell that the seasons are changing. It’s cooler at night and darker when I wake up in the morning. These changes have me craving sweaters, slow-cooked dinners, and rich and meaty pastas.

Over the weekend, we found ourselves in Berkeley for the Old Time Music Festival (my daughter was in the fiddle competition) which, happily, was right next door to the farmer’s market. During a break, we scouted the market to find some snacks and something to drink. As we were walking past a pasta vendor my daughter mentioned that it had been a while since we made fresh pasta and offered to make some for dinner that night. Since I am no fool, I said yes.

My tomato plant is currently going crazy so we ended up making a creamy fresh tomato and basil sauce for her beautiful pasta, but it got me thinking about this recipe for Short Ribs in Red Wine Sauce which I absolutely love. It can be eaten with polenta or mashed potatoes, but I prefer to serve it over some fresh buttered pappardelle.

This, in turn, got me thinking about short ribs in general which are a favorite of mine and a must order for me anytime we go out to dinner. You just can’t go wrong with slow-cooked beef.

In an effort to branch out and try something new, here is a promising recipe for Coffee-Braised Short Rib Pasta. It’s similar to my favorite one but I love tasting what the coffee does to the flavor.

Coffee-Braised Short Rib Pasta
Adapted from Feast Magazine
Yields 6 servings Read more…