Lemon Basil Chicken Marsala Food

CHICKEN MARSALA

Steps:

• Place the flour, ¾ teaspoon salt, and ¼ teaspoon pepper in a ziplock bag. Add the chicken to the bag; seal bag tightly and shake to coat chicken evenly. Set aside.
• Heat the oil and 2 tablespoons of the butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. (Use a stainless steel pan for the best browning. Nonstick will work too, but you won't get that nice golden color on the chicken.) Place the flour-dusted chicken in the pan, shaking off any excess first, and cook, turning once, until the chicken is golden and just barely cooked through, about 5 to 6 minutes total. Transfer the chicken to a plate and set aside.
• Melt the remaining tablespoon of butter in the pan. Add the mushrooms and cook, stirring frequently, until the mushrooms begin to brown, 3 to 4 minutes. Add the shallots, garlic, and ¼ teaspoon of salt; cook for 1 to 2 minutes more. Add the broth, Marsala, heavy cream, thyme, ¼ teaspoon salt, and ⅛ teaspoon of pepper; use a wooden spoon to scrape any brown bits from the pan into the liquid. Bring the liquid to a boil, then reduce the heat to medium and gently boil, uncovered, until the sauce is reduced by about half, slightly thickened, and darkened in color, 10 to 15 minutes (you're going for a thin cream sauce; it won't start to thicken until the very end of the cooking time). Add the chicken back to the pan, along with any juices that accumulated on the plate. Reduce the heat to low and simmer until the chicken is warmed through and the sauce thickens a bit more, 2 to 3 minutes. Sprinkle with parsley, if using, and serve.
• Note: If your chicken breasts are large (like the ones in the photos that are about ¾ lb. each), it's best to first cut them horizontally to form four flat fillets, then pound them to an even ¼-inch thickness. If you pound large chicken breasts without first halving them, they'll be huge. Of course, you could also pound them thin first and then cut them in half vertically; the only drawback is that they'll lose their natural shape (which, admittedly, is not a big deal!).

THE BEST CHICKEN MARSALA

Steps:

• Set a wire rack inside a rimmed baking sheet. Cut two 12-inch sheets of plastic wrap.
• Cut the chicken breasts in half lengthwise, making 6 roughly equal pieces; they should look like large chicken tenders. Place one sheet of plastic on a clean cutting board. Put a chicken piece in the center of the plastic and top with the other sheet of plastic. Pound the chicken with the flat side of a meat mallet, starting in the center and working your way to the edges, until the chicken is 1/4 inch thick and 6 to 8 inches long. Transfer to the wire rack. Repeat with the remaining chicken pieces. Liberally sprinkle the chicken with salt and pepper.
• Mix the flour with 1 1/2 teaspoons salt and a generous amount of pepper in a shallow bowl or plate. Dredge the cutlets in the seasoned flour, shaking off any excess. Heat 3 tablespoons of the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat until very hot, about 1 minute. Sear 3 cutlets until golden brown, about 2 minutes per side. Transfer the cutlets to a plate. Add the remaining 1 tablespoon of oil to the pan and sear the remaining 3 cutlets until golden brown, about 2 minutes per side. It's ok if the chicken is not completely cooked through; it will finish cooking in the sauce.
• Add the mushrooms and 1/2 teaspoon salt to the same pan and cook, stirring and scraping up any browned bits, until the mushrooms are slightly softened and just beginning to release some liquid, 3 to 4 minutes. (The mushrooms will soak up the oil quickly and dry up the pan; that's ok, more liquid will release as they cook longer.) Add the shallots and cook, stirring and scraping up any browned bits, until starting to soften, 3 to 4 minutes.
• Remove the pan from the heat. Pour in the wine and 1/2 cup water. Return the pan to high heat and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium and simmer until the liquid reduces by a third and starts to thicken, 6 to 7 minutes. Whisk in the butter and continue whisking until it is melted and the sauce has thickened, 1 to 2 minutes.
• Add the cutlets and any accumulated juices to the pan and cook, flipping halfway through, until the chicken is cooked through and the sauce has thickened, about 2 minutes.
• Remove the chicken to a platter and stir the parsley into the sauce. Pour the sauce over the chicken and garnish with more parsley.

COOKING FOR TWO: LEMON-BASIL CHICKEN MARSALA

Steps:

• 1. Flatten chicken to 1/2-in. thickness. In a resealable plastic bag, combine the flour, basil, salt and pepper. Add chicken, one piece at a time, and shake to coat.
• 2. In a large skillet over medium heat, cook chicken in 1 tablespoon butter for 4-5 minutes on each side or until a thermometer reads 170°. Remove and keep warm.
• 3. In the same skillet, saute mushrooms in remaining butter until tender. Add garlic; cook 1 minute longer. Add wine and lemon juice, stirring to loosen browned bits from pan. Bring to a boil; cook until liquid is reduced by a third.
• 4. Return chicken to the pan. Sprinkle with cheese. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, for 1-2 minutes or until heated through.

LEMON BASIL CHICKEN

Steps:

• Place chicken breasts on a cutting board. Flatten slightly using the smooth side of a meat mallet. Dust both sides lightly with flour.
• Melt butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat until bubbling. Saute chicken breasts until lightly browned, about 3 minutes per side. Add chicken stock, lemon juice, basil, and lemon zest. Cover and simmer until chicken is no longer pink in the center, about 10 minutes.
• Transfer chicken to a warm platter. Cover loosely to keep warm. Boil remaining liquid over high heat, uncovered, until reduced to 1/2 cup. Spoon sauce over chicken.

LEMON MARSALA CHICKEN BREASTS

Steps:

• Trim chicken.
• Cut chicken breast in half -- pound nice and flat.
• Heat butter and oil together in skillet.
• Dredge chicken in flour (mixed with salt and pepper to taste).
• Shake of excess flour.
• Dip chicken in beaten eggs.
• Saute in hot fat until golden on both sides.
• Drain on paper towel.
• Place in shallow baking dish.
• Make sauce;.
• Melt butter in saucepan.
• Add garlic and shallots. Saute for a minute.
• Add flour, stirring constantly. DO NOT ALLOW MIXTURE TO BROWN.
• Add stock and Marsala and continue to stir until smooth and slightly thickened.
• Add lemon juice.
• Pour sauce over chicken and bake until tenders (30 min).
• Preheat oven to 375.
• Sprinkle with fresh parsley and add fresh lemon slices when serving.

LEMON BASIL CHICKEN

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400°F.
• Clean and trim fat from chicken, and salt and pepper each side. Place chicken in a baking dish, skin side up.
• Loosen the skin on each piece, and place a basil leaf under the skin, directly on top of the chicken meat.
• Toss the garlic around the chicken in the baking dish.
• Place the lemon slices on top of each piece of chicken and drizzle with the oil.
• Bake for 35 - 40 minutes (depending on whether it's white meat or dark meat), basting with the garlic flavored pan juices every 10 minutes. The skin should be crisp and brown and the meat tender when it's ready to serve.

LEMON BASIL GRILLED CHICKEN

Steps:

• Lightly pound chicken to an even 3/4-inch thickness. Pat chicken dry using paper towels and place in a large resealable plastic bag.
• Combine lemon peel, lemon juice, garlic, salt, oil and basil in a blender or food processor. Pulse for 30 seconds or until well blended.
• Pour the marinade over the chicken, seal the bag and turn to coat chicken thoroughly. Marinate in the refrigerator for at least 15 minutes to overnight.
• Preheat grill to medium-high heat or about 400 degrees F.
• Remove chicken from marinade and discard marinade.
• Grill for 4 to 6 minutes per side or until cooked through.
• Transfer to serving plate and garnish with additional basil, if desired.

LEMON BASIL CHICKEN AND VEGETABLES

Steps:

• Cook rice as directed on package. While rice is cooking, cut chicken into 2 X 1/4 inch strips.
• Spray 12-inch nonstick skillet with cooking spray; heat over medium-high heat.
• Add chicken to skillet; sprinkle with pepper and garlic powder. Stir-fry 4 to 6 minutes or until brown. Add onion; stir-fry 4 to 6 minutes or until brown. Add onion; stir-fry 2 minutes.
• Stir in frozen vegetables and water. Heat to boiling; reduce heat to medium. Cover and cook 5 to 6 minutes, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are tender.
• Mix stir-fry sauce and cornstarch until smooth; stir into mixture in skillet. Heat to boiling, stirring constantly. Boil and stir 1 minute.
• Divide rice among bowls. Top with chicken mixture.

BASIL CHICKEN MARSALA WITH MUSHROOMS

Steps:

• Place chicken between two sheets of wax paper and pound to approximately 1/4-inch thick. In a large bowl or plastic bag, combine flour with next 3 ingredients. Add chicken to flour mixture, toss to coat.
• Heat 2 tablespoons oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Sauté chicken 3-5 minutes per side or until done. Remove from skillet.
• Add mushrooms and remaining oil, if needed. Sauté 2-3 minutes. Stir in wine and remaining 3 ingredients. Stir to loosen any browned particles; bring to a boil. Return chicken to skillet. Simmer, uncovered, 2 minutes.

DELISH PESTO PASTA WITH CHICKEN MARSALA

Steps:

• Cook pasta according to package directions. In a Dutch oven, heat 1 tablespoon oil over medium-high heat. Add half of the chicken; cook and stir until no longer pink; remove from the pan. Repeat with remaining oil and chicken; remove from the pan., Add garlic and lemon zest to the same pan; cook and stir for 30 seconds. Add wine and lemon juice, stirring to loosen browned bits from the pan. Bring to a boil; cook until liquid is reduced by half. Stir in the cheese, milk and sauce mix. Add chicken; cook until sauce is slightly thickened., Drain pasta; add to chicken mixture and toss to combine. , Sprinkle with herbs.