Chicken Marsala

(image from http://www.kinnelonpizza.com/, recipe adapted from www.allrecipes.com)

Ingredients:

1/4 cup flour for coating

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp ground black pepper

1/2 tsp dried oregano

4 skinless boneless chicken breast halves, diced

4 tbs butter

4 tbs olive oil

1 cup sliced mushrooms

1/4 cup diced green pepper

1/4 cup diced onion

3/4 cup Marsala wine

1/2 box Linguine (8 oz)

Directions:

1. In a shallow dish, mix flour, salt, pepper & oregano. Coat chicken pieces in the flour mixture. Put pan of water for linguine on to boil.

2. In a large skillet, melt butter in oil over medium heat. Place chicken in the pan and brown lightly. Turn over chicken and add peppers, onions, and mushrooms. Cook for about 3 minutes. Add wine. Cover skillet; simmer 10 minutes, turning once. Once skillet is covered, add linguine to other pan. Cook chicken until no longer pink and juices run clear. Cook linguine as directed on box.

New York Strip Steak with Caramelized Onions and Mushrooms

New York Strip Steak with Caramelized Onions and Mushrooms

2 steaks, 1 1/2 - 2" thick
Salt and pepper
1 T olive oil
1/2 onion
1/2 cup mushrooms
1 T butter
1/4 cup red wine

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Heat a large, oven safe skillet over medium-high heat until nice and hot. Rub steaks lightly with olive oil and sprinkle liberally with salt and pepper. When pan is hot, add steaks. Do not move the steaks. Cook about 4 minutes on the first side until a nice crust develops, turn once. Cook an additional 4 minutes. Immediately transfer pan to the oven. Cook an additional 5-8 minutes to desired done-ness. (Mine took about 6 minutes to get to medium, pull it out just before its done as it will continue to cook a little as it rests.)

Transfer steaks to a plate and cover with foil. In the same pan over medium low heat, add butter, onions, and mushrooms. Season with salt and pepper and add red wine to deglaze the pan. Use a wooden spoon to scrape up some of the browned bits from the bottom of the pan. Once the liquid is reduced and the onions are browned and softened, about 5 minutes, turn off the heat and pour over steaks.

This works best in a stainless steel or cast iron pan (not non-stick) and make sure the pan can go in the oven at a high temperature. You can use a grill pan if you want the grill marks but a regular pan works just as well and is much easier to clean up.

This method is not limited to just steak... it works well for many types of meat, especially thick cuts. I used a strip steak but use whatever you like best. I also added some caramelized onions and mushrooms to finish this off.

Make sure you let your steak sit at room temperature for about 20 minutes before cooking it so you are not putting cold meat into the hot pan which will make it tougher.