What's for chow on Tuesday, 8/16/2016?

[Greg Who Cooks]

Chicken Marsala and white rice!

I mixed some flour, salt and pepper in a plastic bag and threw in a few pieces of skinless, boneless chicken thights. Saute in a bit of EVOO then added a generous portion of Crimeni (baby bella) mushrooms, and of course it ain't Chicken Marsala without Marsala so I added some sweet Marsala and covered to simmer on low heat. (Check regularly and add more wine if it starts getting low. Chicken should be about half submerged.)

When the time is right I transfer the chicken to a warm dish and keep it warm in the oven, turn up the heat on the pan then add enough cream to taste, constantly stirring to a syrupy thickness adding cream as necessary. Add more salt or pepper to taste. Then pour sauce and mushrooms over the chicken and slop a bit on the rice!

One day I'll serve this over thin spaghetti but I use the same pan for both purposes. I need two pans!

Bon apetit!

 

[Andy M.]

I spent part of today with my recently widowed sister and she prepared a special Armenian dish made with raw beef and bulgar. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Çiğ_köfte

That and a tossed salad followed by strawberry shortcake and coffee made a fantastic dinner for the two of us.

 

[salt and pepper]

Baked Walleye . etc.

 

[Kayelle]

I love chicken marsala Craig, and I haven't made it in a while. I like to finish mine with a bit of fresh lemon.
Sorry to hear your sister lost her husband Andy...a nice one on one visit I'm sure she needed.

SC found some fresh Hatch Chili's at the store today and I roasted, skinned and cleaned them of seeds. I know better, but I didn't wear gloves and my hands are paying for it. Aloe with lidocaine is helping some. Groan.
Anyway, I made my chili relleno casserole but who knows if it will be too hot to eat. Double groan.
SC made some nice glorified salads, so we'll have that if nothing else.

 

[Cheryl J]

Chicken Marsala sounds good, Greg.

Joey...your dinner looks delicious!

Kay...I haven't made chiles rellenos casserole in way too long. I hope yours doesn't turn out too hot with those chiles.

I'm sorry about the loss of your sister's husband, Andy.

I had leftover baked macaroni and cheese from yesterday, and a small salad. Gosh...smoked gouda sure does wonders for a mac and cheese dish.

 

[Andy M.]

Thanks, Cheryl.

 

[Dawgluver]

Sorry about the loss of your BIL, Andy.

S&P, I really need to get me some walleye!

We're just grazing. I have this tendency for collecting leftovers.

 

[Andy M.]

Thanks, Dawg.

 

[Kayelle]

I love chicken marsala Craig, and I haven't made it in a while. I like to finish mine with a bit of fresh lemon.
Sorry to hear your sister lost her husband Andy...a nice one on one visit I'm sure she needed.

SC found some fresh Hatch Chili's at the store today and I roasted, skinned and cleaned them of seeds. I know better, but I didn't wear gloves and my hands are paying for it. Aloe with lidocaine is helping some. Groan.
Anyway, I made my chili relleno casserole but who knows if it will be too hot to eat. Double groan.
SC made some nice glorified salads, so we'll have that if nothing else.

We all know that quality control is everything, and it sure paid off in this case. The fresh Hatch Chili's I produced for my casserole had no seeds, veins or skins and were the best and most flavorful chili's I've ever used!
The casserole was the best ever, and not too hot with unbelievable flavor.
I'm sending the SC back to the store for more...and buying surgical gloves this time.

 

[Kaneohegirlinaz]

Greg, I've never served Chicken Marsala with rice, it's been over pasta or polenta, I'll give that a whirl. Also, I've always used Dry Marsala rather than Sweet...

K, you didn't go for the medium Hatch Chiles? Hot is too hot for us!

And Andy, please pass along my condolences to your sister as well.

S&P, ya know I've never had Walleye...

Cheryl, I'll have to try smoked Gouda in my next batch of Mac&Cheese, I love smoked Gouda!

We went to Taco Tuesday with Mr & Mrs DF's again ...

 

[Kayelle]

Greg, I've never served Chicken Marsala with rice, it's been over pasta or polenta, I'll give that a whirl.

K, you didn't go for the mild Hatch Chiles? Hot is too hot for us!

And Andy, please pass along my condolences to your sister as well.

S&P, ya know I've never had Walleye...

Cheryl, I'll have to try smoked Gouda in my next batch of Mac&Cheese, I love smoked Gouda!

We went to Taco Tuesday with Mr & Mrs DF's again ...

According to the Souschef, there wasn't a choice Kgirl, so he brought home what they had labeled "hot hatch chili's". With a lot of care like I mentioned, they were not too hot.

 

[Greg Who Cooks]

OMG, I think it's the season for Hatch chilis and I miss the time I lived in Santa Fe NM and bought them in the stores and got them fresh roasted in rotary grilles outside the market. If there is one thing I miss most about living in Santa Fe the Hatch chilis are it!

An update on my Chicken Marsala, oh you silly Greg. Only one pot? I had to laugh at myself. I got another pot and cooked that thin spaghetti, and it was the BEST Chicken Marsala I ever had! (Forget the rice! I had leftover rice and I'm frugal.) Spaghetti is the way to go, and now I am head-to-head with Romano's Macaroni Grill!

One thing. For whatever reason I have been turning the sauce into a white or Bechamel sauce by my addition of cream. I realized tonight that the cream added a slightly off taste. I realized tonight it should be a wine based sauce, and after all there is already wine! (Plus I have a lactose intolerant friend who likes Chicken Marsala!)

So whatever, I found another pan and cooked thin spaghetti and it was a big improvement! The Bechamel taste added by the cream was off, next time I'll either just reduce the sauce or force it with cornstarch (which will probably not be necessary).

So if you wanna cook what I described above, skip the cream and just reduce the sauce after you have reserved the chicken, and serve it over pasta!!!

Wow, I can't believe this! (Not that I haven't gone up against famous restaurants before.) But I truly believe next time I cook this recipe I'm going to come up with a recipe that fully challenges Romano's Macaroni Grill and is at least equally good as their Chicken Marsala!

In fact on my website (see my profile) I have some copycat recipes challenging good restaurants (type copycat in my search box) but if this recipe turns out as good as I expect next time I'm adding it to my copycat category against Romano's!

I expect we DC denizens are similar in that we all often enjoy eating as good as the best restaurants, but at home, and not take-out but cooking it here! At least I feel that way, and subject to my expectations for my next outing on this recipe (next week) I think I'm going to make it.

Now if only I could match their lamb shanks. (To die for!) They have one thing in common: Cremeni mushrooms! It was only recently that I put it together that Romano's uses them and Romano's is so good, and I'm not. I discovered these delicious Italian mushrooms are also called "baby bella" mushrooms and are simply juvenile Portabello mushrooms but they are more flavorful than our button or white mushrooms. Much more flavorful! Make sure you use them if you choose to duplicate my recipe. And for sure I will be using a lot more Cremini in future cooking.

This night my Chicken Marsala was almost as good as Romano's and next time it will be equally good or better!

I would like to hear of other members' experiences with these wonderful, tasty mushrooms.

 

[Greg Who Cooks]

Just to add, can we order Hatch chilis? I met a nice friend here at DC and met her in person in Santa Fe, and she was so nice to me, but I hesitate to email her and ask her to get some and mail/ship them to me.

Is there any way to order roasted Hatch chilis? You buy them fresh, and then you take them home and freeze some, use the rest. Oh and funny aside, they smelled like people smoking pot when I was there in Santa Fe in the supermarket parking lots watching them roast the chilis.

If it wasn't 3 days drive each direction I'd go get me some! I guess I'll go check Amazon...

 

[Greg Who Cooks]

Actually I checked, canned, powdered, dried (yech) and fresh frozen (yeah!) but 2# for $17 plus $12 shipping.

I could easily get several pounds freshly roasted for that price in Santa Fe if only I was there.

Santa Fe, great place, but I'm glad I came back to LaLa Land. You can take the boy out of the city, but you can't take the city out of the boy. I'm glad to be home, where I grew up. Even if we don't have Hatch chilis except in cans.

They have one Asian market in Santa Fe, the size of a 7-11 (smaller, actually, barely gas station size), and pathetic. I have a couple dozen Asian markets here in LaLa Land within easy driving distance, including several with sushi grade fish! Mmmmm!

 

[Kaneohegirlinaz]

...snipped ...
I would like to hear of other members' experiences with these wonderful, tasty mushrooms.

This is how I do it at our house




Very nice with Roasted Potatoes as well ...

Greg, swirling (never stir) cold butter in to the sauce, or "mount" at the very end, this will thicken your Marsala Sauce nicely.

I can't say that I've ever eaten at Romano's ...

 

[Kaneohegirlinaz]

According to the Souschef, there wasn't a choice Kgirl, so he brought home what they had labeled "hot hatch chili's". With a lot of care like I mentioned, they were not too hot.

K, maybe they were really mediums then, eh?
Hatch Hor Chiles are WAY HOT, yeah?
Oh, and Greg, try the freezer case at Walmart, we have Hatch Chiles there in Arizona...

 

[Kayelle]

If we found fresh Hatch Chili's here in Santa Paula Greg, watch your local markets where you live, not so far from here.

 

[Kaneohegirlinaz]

Actually I checked, canned, powdered, dried (yech) and fresh frozen (yeah!) but 2# for $17 plus $12 shipping.

GREG!!!
https://www.sprouts.com/specials/-/..._flyer_WAR_flyerportlet_selectedFlyerId=54662
SPROUTS!!! GO THERE!!!

 

[Cheryl J]

Sounds delish Kay, I could almost taste it. I'll have to look for them here.

kgirl...do try to use some kind of smoked cheese in your next batch of mac and cheese...it adds so much flavor! btw, I'm liking your blog.

 

[Kaneohegirlinaz]

Sounds delish Kay, I could almost taste it. I'll have to look for them here.

kgirl...do try to use some kind of smoked cheese in your next batch of mac and cheese...it adds so much flavor! btw, I'm liking your blog.

Mahalo, thanks Cheryl!
DH does not like Mac&Cheese, but I LOVE it!
I may need to make up a batch with some smoked Gouda and send some up in the dumb waiter to Mr&Mrs Landlord to share...