02 July 2010

Chicken Marsala

About a month ago, my wife and I decided to try something new. We went to a chain Italian restaurant here locally, one that we had never been to before. The food was amazing, but the prices were a little on the outrageous side. My favourite of all that we tried, the Chicken Marsala. I knew from the first bite that this was something that I was going to have to recreate at home.

I'm not a huge fan of wine, I have to admit. But cooking with wine...nothing could be better. Marsala wine (which was surprisingly difficult to find locally) is no exception. I decided on a deep amber Marsala, or rather I bought it because it was the only kind carried by our local liquor emporium. A simple taste of the wine reminded me that most of the stuff "tastes like rotten grapes", as my wife would say. The deep sweetness, however pairs excellently with mushrooms and veggies.

I used a recipe from a recent edition to my iPhone. Epicurious has put out a lovely iPhone app that is a collection of their best magazine recipes. The search options, and "grocery list organizer" options make it wonderful for any level of cook. If you don't want to download the app, or don't have an iPhone, their online website has a great wealth of recipes, including the "Chicken and Mushroom Marsala" recipe that I made.



In place of their suggested "mushrooms" I used creminis (baby portabellas) because I love their meaty earthy flavour. This dish is listed in their "low-cal" menu, making it a great addition to our normal low-calorie foods. I loved this dish so much, I'm planning on trying the Marsala flavour with other types of meat. I can only imagine that this would be just as great with pork, or a meaty whitefish.

Try it, you might like it...or maybe you'll order pizza.

29 June 2010

Summertime Desserts


Desserts and Summertime go hand in hand, and one of my favourites is Strawberry Shortcake. Admittedly I cheated with this dessert and bought the pre-cooked angelfood cake. The whipped cream, however, was made from scratch. It was so good that I've vowed to never buy that crappy frozen whipped cream again!

Whipped Cream

2 pints heavy whipping cream
1 tbsp powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla flavouring


Whip all ingredients together until mixture becomes thick. Refrigerate for at least an hour before serving to make sure the cream stays firm.