Another Restaurant Favorite

Chicken Marsala is one of my favorite dishes. There are so many ways to prepare it, and so many methods, but I love the way Carrabbas makes theirs. They grill the chicken, then cover it in the Marsala sauce. My mom makes hers by pan frying the chicken, then slicing it and letting it simmer in the sauce. I like it that way, but coating the chicken and frying it first doesn’t add much flavor, but does add calories and fat (even though she uses olive oil). So I decided to make my favorite Carrabbas dinner, including delicious roasted garlic mashed potatoes. I often find whole roasted cloves of garlic in the potatoes when I’m eating them there – delicious! However, the garlic can be left out, or less can be used and mashed really well. Carrabbas uses new potatoes, I believe, because sometimes there’s a bit of red skin in the potatoes. I like Yukon Gold potatoes the best though, so I’m using them. Also, I get either a Caesar salad or the broccoli with my dinner, so I made broccoli with this.

Chicken Marsala, Roasted Garlic Mashed Potatoes, Broccoli

Chicken Marsala:

2 chicken breasts

2 thick slices of pancetta, diced

1 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil

1 shallot, minced

1 garic clove, minced

8 oz. cremini or button mushrooms, sliced

½ cup marsala wine

½ cup chicken stock

Splash of cream or half and half

Salt and Pepper

½ tsp. Thyme

Heat a large skillet over medium-high, add pancetta and cook until crispy, about 5 minutes. Remove and drain on paper towels.

Turn heat to medium-low, leave a touch of the fat and add shallot, garlic, and mushrooms.

Heat a grill pan over medium high. Season chicken with salt and pepper, cook for 5 minutes per side. (It will finish in the sauce)

Add the marsala to the mushrooms, let it bubble and cook down, add the stock, cream, thyme, salt and pepper, and slide the chicken breasts into the sauce. Let it simmer for 10 minutes.

Add the pancetta back in, toss to combine, and plate.

Roasted Garlic Mashed Potatoes

2 lbs. Yukon gold potatoes

Salt and pepper

½ cup fat free half and half or whole milk

2 tbsp. butter

8 cloves of roasted garlic, recipe here

Splash of milk to thin it further if necessary

Peel potatoes and dice. Place in a large pot filled with cold water. Bring to a boil and simmer for 20 minutes. Drain, add back to the hot pot. Add the salt and pepper, garlic, butter, and milk. Mash or beat with a mixer until it’s mostly smooth. If the potatoes are too stiff, add more cream/half and half/milk to it until it reaches the desired consistency.