Easy Chicken Marsala

To Make Chicken Marsala:
4 chicken breasts (about 6 ounces each, but not a big deal if they are a different size)
10 oz sliced baby bella mushrooms (I bought mine pre-sliced at TJ's)
1 small diced onion
2 cloves minced garlic
1/4 teaspoon thyme
1/4 teaspoon parsley
1/2 cup Marsala
1/4 cup Sherry
1 1/2 cups chicken stock
1/4 cup whole milk
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/4 cup flour
Salt
Pepper


Preheat oven to 250.

Rinse chicken well and pat dry with paper towels. Cut off any visible fat. Flatten chicken with meat pounder, using wax paper over chicken if available.

Put flour on large plate. Sprinkle generously with salt and pepper. Dip chicken in flour, shaking off excess.

Melt butter in large saute pan over medium high heat. Add chicken breasts and brown both sides. Remove from pan, set in oven dish and place in oven to keep warm.

Add olive oil to saute pan. Add onion, garlic, mushrooms, parsley and thyme. Saute until juice from mushrooms has evaporated, stirring to prevent vegetables from burning.

Add Marsala and sherry to saute pan. Let mixture come to a simmer and cook 10 minutes.

Add chicken stock and chicken pieces. Cook at low simmer for 15-20 minutes, then remove chicken pieces and place on a plate.

Add milk to mushroom mixture and let simmer 10-15 minutes until thickened. Add chicken pieces to warm them up before serving.

Plate chicken breasts on 4 plates and scoop mushroom and sauce over meat.

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Blue Cheese Burgers with Portobello Mushroom Caps

This recipe can be altered to suit your tastes-I used blue cheese, but feta, cheddar, jalapeno jack, Gouda-anything can be used in its place!

Ingredients:
2 lb lean ground beef
2 cloves minced garlic
1 teaspoon salt
1/2-1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper (depending on how much you like it)
1 medium Vidalia onion (already diced and sauteed in olive oil until translucent)
3/4 cup crumbled blue cheese
2 large portobello mushroom caps
3 tablespoons olive oil
8 hamburger buns

Using your hands, mix together beef, garlic, onion, salt, pepper and blue cheese.

Form into 8 burger patties (with the added ingredients they are about 1/3 lb patties).

Thoroughly wash mushroom caps and let dry. Drizzle with 1 tablespoon olive oil.

Heat grill on medium-high.

Brush each side of burger with a little olive oil to prevent from sticking to grill.

Sear burgers about 2 minutes on each side.

Turn heat down to medium. Add mushroom caps to grill.

Cook burgers and mushroom caps about 8-10 minutes, flipping once to cook evenly.

Remove burgers and mushroom caps from grill. Slice mushrooms into strips.

Grill buns until lightly toasted.

Place burgers on their respective buns, top with a few strips of mushrooms and garlic aioli, mushroom, ketchup or whatever your stomach desires!

Sweet Potato Gnocchi with Mushrooms and Spinach

Ingredients:
2 sweet potatoes
2 Idaho potatoes
2 medium eggs
1 cup 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour (plus more for later, when rolling out dough)
1 tablespoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
8 oz baby bellas, washed well and sliced
1 cup packed spinach, washed
Parmesan cheese (in wedge form)
Olive oil
1/4 cup dry white wine
1 teaspoon truffle oil
Salt
Pepper

Turn oven to 400.

Wash sweet potatoes and roast until tender, approximately 25 minutes. Remove from oven and cool.

While sweet potatoes are roasting, boil the Idaho potatoes until a fork pierces them easily.

After all of the potatoes have cooled, peel and mash them in a large bowl. Add the eggs, flour, salt and pepper. Mix with hands to incorporate all of the ingredients. Kneed a few times on a clean, floured counter. If really sticky add a little more flour to make dough workable.

Divide dough into large balls. Roll into long snakes, about 3/4 inch thick. Cut dough every 3/4 inch or so. Using the tips of your forefinger and middle finger, put slight pressure on gnocchi top and push down lightly to roll the gnocchi towards you. This should just make a slight indent in gnocchi. (Don't worry if it doesn't work at first, rolling gnocchi takes practice!)

In large saute pan, heat olive oil over medium-high heat. Add sliced mushrooms and cook about 5 minutes, or until soft and juice has mostly evaporated. Add white wine and cook 3 minutes (make sure it is simmering/sizzling to evaporate alcohol). Add spinach and wilt.

Boil large pot of water. Add gnocchi to water. Cook about 2 minutes past point when gnocchi being to float. Test one when they float to get a better idea if they are done.

Drain in large colander.

In large serving dish, toss gnocchi with spinach, mushrooms, and truffle oil. Shave Parmesan curls generously over pasta. Salt and Pepper to taste.

Truffled Wild Mushroom Soup

Ingredients:
6 tablespoons butter
1 celery rib, diced
4 shallots, diced
1 medium onion, diced
4 garlic cloves, minced
6 ounces shiitake mushrooms, chopped
6 ounces crimini mushrooms, chopped
6 ounces oyster mushrooms, chopped
3/4 cup dry white wine (Sauvignon Blanc works well)
1/4 cup dry Sherry
1/4 cup all purpose flour
4-6 cups chicken stock
1 cup evaporated skim milk
1 tablespoon truffle oil
1/4 teaspoon thyme
Salt
Pepper

Melt 3 tablespoons butter in large sauce pot over medium-high heat. Add celery, shallots, onion, garlic and thyme. Turn down to medium. Cook, stirring occasionally about 7 minutes. Add mushrooms and saute 5 minutes. Add wine and sherry. Bring everything to a boil. Cook about 5-7 minutes, stirring often, until liquid is reduced.

Melt remaining 3 tablespoons butter in medium saute pan over medium heat. Add flour and whisk until mixture resembles a golden paste. Add 1 cup chicken stock to paste and whisk in until creamy. Add to sauce pot and stir until paste and vegetables are mixed together. Add remaining chicken stock. (If soup is too thick add all 6 cups stock, if not, just use 4 cups). Bring to boil, stirring frequently. Reduce heat to so that mixture simmers. Cook about 10 minutes.

Puree soup in blender or processor until smooth. Return soup to pot and add milk and truffle oil. Salt and pepper to taste. Bring to simmer and cook additional 5 minutes.