Chicken Not Marsala

For Garden Tuesday yesterday, I was all set to post a picture of my grapes. Except that I sent the boys out, and they found that the first crop of grapes had passed, and we're a week or more away from having more. Depressed, I couldn't find anything about which to write. So, Thor and I sat glumly in a corner, administering the remainder of the boys' first Calvert School tests, and contemplating dinner. I'm sure Thor contemplates dinner constantly, unless he's dreaming of romping in the yard with the boys.

Buffalo Dick recently asked what meal you would like to eat for the rest of your life; I responded Veal Marsala. Last night, I decided that since I don't cook veal (way too pricy for me), I'd make chicken marsala. Except that I don't pound the chicken pieces out thin, or cook in a skillet. Hey, you try pounding 3 pounds of chicken, and sauteeing those suckers one by each in a skillet, and trying to keep them warm while you finish the rest of the cooking. You'll be on my side in this matter. I also had the small matter of having no marsala in the house. No big deal; I cook lots of stuff without the right ingredients, right? So, here you go:

CHICKEN NOT MARSALA

3 pounds chicken (small family recipe)
milk
flour/salt/pepper/garlic powder
1/2 stick butter
1 minced onion
8 ounces sliced mushrooms, fresh or canned
2 cups wine (I used white zinfandel; use whatever you have)
2 tbsp cornstarch

Preheat the broiler. Dredge the chicken in milk, then in the flour mix. (Note for Paula: use your gluten free flour for this, or dredge in cornstarch mixed with the spices, so your baby can eat it.) Melt the butter in the bottom of the broiler pan, cook the onion in the butter until softened, then put the chicken in the melted butter, flip it over, broil one side, then the other, until browned, about 5 minutes per side. Remove from the oven and turn the heat down to 350F. Move the chicken to a serving platter. Put most of the wine in the pan and whisk it with the drippings. Whisk the cornstarch into 1/2 cup of the wine, and whisk that into the pan. Add the mushrooms, return the chicken to the pan, and return to the oven until the chicken is done (probably 15 to 30 minutes, depending upon the size of the pieces of chicken. I use thighs).

Meanwhile, make....

PASTA WITH GARLIC AND PARSLEY

1 pound angel hair
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup olive oil
garlic powder to taste
fresh ground pepper to taste
1/2 cup chopped parsley

Cook the angel hair; drain and cover to keep warm for a minute. In the pasta pan, melt the butter; stir in the garlic powder and pepper. Return the angel hair to the pot and turn off the heat. Add the parsley and olive oil, and toss to combine all of the ingredients. Serve at once.

This is the plate of my dearly beloved. Since you all know I don't eat fungus, and my food can't touch each other, my plate certainly didn't look this pretty. Plus, this would make me about 3 dinners; I'd weigh 300 pounds if I ate this much, and at 5'3", that would be overload.

Well, two recipes for the price of one. Was it almost worth not having anything yesterday?