Chicken Marsala

One of my favorite chicken dishes is chicken marsala which combines sweet marsala wine with mushrooms, garlic and onion on top of a thinly pounded chicken breast. I have found that the quality of the marsala sauce at restaurants varies greatly in terms of texture, sweetness and number of mushrooms. So, I found several  recipes and combined them into one that that contains my favorite elements - a nice hearty, thick, sweet sauce with plenty of mushrooms. The recipe below yields 4 servings. Enjoy!

HELPFUL HINTS
1. The sauce shouldn't be made too far ahead or it will thicken too much. The sauce takes 10-15 minutes so try to time it to be ready right when the chicken is done.
2. I used a combination of white and shiitake mushrooms but you can use whatever you prefer.
3. If you don't have any beef stock, you can make it yourself using beef bouillon cubes in water. It did the job just fine.

INGREDIENTS
4 chicken breasts, pounded to 1/4 inch thickness and cooked (in a pan or on a grill)
3 Tbs olive oil
1/4 cup onion, diced
1 Tbs garlic, chopped
1/2 lb mushrooms, sliced
3 Tbs flour
3/4 cup Marsala wine
1 1/4 cups beef stock
Salt and pepper, to taste

DIRECTIONS
1. Add olive oil to a saucepan and heat on medium-high.
2. Add onions, garlic and mushrooms and cook down until tender.

















3. Stir in flour and cook for one minute.



4. Add Marsala until pan is deglazed.



5. Add beef stock and cook until thick and flavors are blended.



6. Serve on top of chicken breasts.

Hand Rolled Lasagna with Garlic and Herbed Béchamel

Since cooking became a serious hobby for me over the last 3 years, I realized recently that I had never made a lasagna. Rather than find a recipe online, I decided to create one from scratch using some of my favorite ingredients - ground beef, ricotta, asiago, mozzarella, provolone, oregano, parsley, garlic and of course homemade noodles. I'm also not a huge fan of red sauces so I made a béchamel sauce and added garlic, herbs and cheese to give it just the right consistency and added a topping with several of the same ingredients. I was so hungry while I made this as the aroma filled the kitchen. I think it turned out great and is definitely what I will make again the next time I have a craving for lasagna. Total prep and cooking time was about 2 hours so it's best to do some of the prep ahead. The recipe below yields about 10 servings. Enjoy!

HELPFUL HINTS
1. For whatever reason, I always seem to forget that if you leave milk boiling unattended, especially while you're typing on your blog, it will boil over the pot and cause a huge mess. I wouldn't recommend this as you can see from one of the pictures below.
2. Many of the components can be made ahead of time such as the noodles, the béchamel sauce and the topping. I wouldn't suggest, however, making the whole thing in advance.
3. When layering the lasagna noodles, don't overlap. Instead, you may have to cut some pieces to make them fit. You may have a few pieces left over when you're all done.
4. This lasagna tastes amazing the next day (or later the same night in my case).

INGREDIENTS
Lasagna Noodles
1 cup flour
2 eggs
1 tsp olive oil
Dash of salt

Meat and Ricotta
1.5 lbs ground beef
15 oz Ricotta
Salt and Pepper to taste

Herbed Béchamel
1/2 stick butter
1 Tbs garlic
4 Tbs flour
8 cups milk, warmed
2 cups grated mozzarella, provolone and asiago, mixed
1 Tbs Parsley
1 Tbs Oregano
Salt and Pepper to taste

Topping
2 Tbs minced garlic
2 Tbs Oregano
2 Tbs Parsley

DIRECTIONS
Lasagna Noodles
1. Add flour to small bowl and create a hole in the middle of the flour
2. Add eggs inside the hole
3. Add olive oil and salt



4. Using a fork, gently combine together
5. Remove from the bowl and knead until ball shape is formed



6. Cover in plastic wrap and let rest for 15 minutes
7. Roll pasta out into lasagna sized sheets, either by hand or using a pasta roller





8. Place a sheet in a pot of boiling water for 1 minute



9. Remove and pat dry on paper towel
10. Repeat with remaining sheets



Meat and Ricotta
1. Cook ground beef in skillet or sauce pan, then drain
2. Add 15 oz ricotta and mix together



3. Add salt and pepper, then set aside

Herbed Béchamel
1. Melt butter in a sauce pan over medium heat
2. Add garlic and let simmer for 2-3 minutes



3. Add flour and whisk together for 3 minutes



4. Add milk, herbs, salt and pepper



5. Whisk together until boiling
6. Add cheese mix, then lower heat, stirring occasionally until ready to use





Topping
1. Mix together garlic, Oregano and Parsley in a small bowl, then set aside





Assembly
1. Preheat oven to 425 F.
2. Grease bottom of 9x12 inch baking dish
3. Pour in 3/4 cup béchamel sauce



4. Add one layer of noodles



5. Add Meat and Ricotta Mixture



6. Add 1/2 cup cheese mix



7. Repeat three more times
8. For the final layer add 3/4 cup béchamel sauce and any extra cheese
8. Cover with aluminum and place on a baking rack in the middle of the oven for 25 minutes
9. Remove aluminum, increase heat to 500 and cook for 6-8 more minutes until top cheese layer bubbles



10. Sprinkle with Garlic, Parsley and Oregano topping



11. Let sit for 10 minutes then serve

Lemon Ice Cream with Lemon Curd Ribbons and Meringue Pieces

This may just be the best ice cream I've ever eaten. Though I'm a sucker for lemon ice cream anyway, this recipe I found here goes over the top by adding fresh lemon curd and tiny meringue pieces into the mix. I made only a few modifications and made this a few nights ago and it did not last long. The taste and texture combined to make this a craveable dessert that I want to make again already. It is almost custard like in consistency and had just the right blend of sweet and tartness. The recipe below yields about 6-8 servings. Enjoy!

HELPFUL HINTS
1. Read through the recipe completely before you start. That way you won't waste the 5 egg whites like I did. You'll need them for the meringue.
2. I left my meringue in the oven a bit too long and so it browned more than I would have liked it too, though the taste was not affected.
3. The recipe for the lemon curd makes almost twice as much as you need but not to worry. Either add it into the ice cream for extra flavor or eat it plain out of the bowl. You won't be sorry either way.

INGREDIENTS
Ice Cream
1 3/4 cups half and half
1 1/4 cups heavy cream
1 Tbs lemon zest
1/2 cup sugar
5 egg yolks
2 Tbs vanilla

Lemon Curd
Zest of 2 lemons
1/2 cup lemon juice
4 eggs
1/2 cup sugar
2 Tbs cornstarch
3 Tbs water
1/4 cup corn oil

Meringue
5 egg whites
1/4 cup sugar

DIRECTIONS
Ice Cream
1. In a heavy bottomed saucepan over medium heat, heat the milk, 1/4 cup of sugar and lemon zest stirring occasionally until almost boiling.
2. Combine egg yolks with the remaining sugar in a large bowl. Beat until slightly thickened.
3. Slowly add the hot milk mixture to the egg yolks, stirring continually.



4. Pour the mixture back into the saucepan and heat stirring occasionally with a heatproof spatula or wooden spoon until thickened and the mixture is almost boiling.



5. Prepare the cream in a large bowl set over an ice-bath.
6. Pour the hot milk through a fine mesh sieve into the cream.



7. Add the vanilla then cool to room temperature before refrigerating at least 3 hours.
8. Add the mixture to an ice-cream maker and process per those directions.
9. Scoop the ice cream into a bowl and place in the freezer until you are ready to stir in your additions. You should do this within an hour so you can easily stir them in, otherwise the ice cream will get too hard.

Lemon Curd
1. Dissolve the cornstarch in the water.
2. In a medium saucepan combine eggs, oil, lemon juice, zest and sugar and whisk continually over medium heat until thickened and almost boiling, about 10 minutes.



3. Add cornstarch mixture and continue to whisk until thickened.



4. Remove from heat and pour through a mesh sieve.



5. Let cool before transferring to a jar and refrigerating.



Meringue
1. Preheat the oven to 200 degrees F.
2. Line a baking tray with parchment paper or a non-stick bakeware liner.
3. Using a stand mixer, beat the egg whites on high until frothy, about 2 minutes.
4. While still on high, slowly add the sugar and whip until stiff peaks form, about another 2 minutes.



5. Spread the meringue on the baking sheet in a thin layer and bake in the oven for one hour.



6. Remove from oven and let cool slightly before crumbling into pieces.



Assembly
1. Fold 1/2 cup lemon curd into ice cream.



2. Fold meringue pieces into ice cream.



3. Freeze to desired consistency.