Chicken Marsala

The Best Chicken Marsala

I can’t say enough about this recipe. Braised Chicken never tasted better than with this Mushroom, Marsala and cream wine sauce. It’s very easy to make but the complexity of the sauce is derived from specific ingredients that change the flavor of the dish, if they’re not fresh and/or dried. The taste of dried Thyme or Oregano is a complete game changer if they’re not added fresh. Both still taste great, in my opinion, but change the flavor drastically, none the less. You might want to experiment with both to find where your tastes lie.

One Chicken cutlet and Mushroom and Marsal Wine Sauce served over Shell pasta.

Deepen and Enrich the Flavor

Season everything from the start. After I butterfly the chicken breast, I season with Kosher salt and pepper. I salt the sautéed mushrooms. I salt the water my pasta cooks in. I even add cooked bacon, which is salty. This may sound like a lot of salt but a little goes a long way.

I also add Spaghetti Sauce (Prego) and Lemon Juice. The tomato, from the sauce deepens the flavor and darkens the tone. Alternatives could be tomato paste or plain tomato sauce if you’d like. I’m betting that it could even be done with a squeeze of Ketchup. I add the lemon to the sauce while it’s cooking but, I find that it’s even more refreshing, adding a fresh squeeze of lemon juice, over the top of each serving, even more satisfying.

The wine I use in this dish is what gives this recipe its name, Marsala. It can be dry or sweet and most recipes call for dry Marsala wine but, I prefer mine sweet. Again, that’s just a personal preference so you decide what’s best for you.

Chicken Marsala “How to” video tutorial by PoorMansGourmet.

Chicken Marsala Ingredients: Serves 2 to 3

1 Chicken Breast, Halved, Butterflied & Tenderized with a Mallet, then seasoned with Kosher Salt and Pepper and dredged in flour
1/4 cup All Purpose Flour
3 tbsp Butter, add 2 for chicken and 1 for Mushrooms
1 tbsp Olive Oil
2 Garlic Cloves, chopped
5 oz Mushrooms
1 cup Marsala Cooking Wine, Dry is recommended but I used Sweet and loved it!
1/2 cup Whipping Cream/Half and Half
1/3 cup Marinara or Spaghetti Sauce
1 pinch Fresh Parsley, chopped
1 Green Onion, chopped (optional)

Kosher Salt and Pepper to taste

This recipe can be served over your favorite pasta, rice, bread etc. and is often garnished with Scallions over the top. Just follow the instructions in the short video tutorial and I’ll show you exactly how to make this Chicken Marsala recipe.

Killer Hash Browns

The Best Hash Browns

You may or may not be familiar with the local Mom & Pop diner’s in your home town that serve their specialty menu Items. My town is no different and one of the traditions at my local diner is to serve what is called, “Killer Hash Browns” or “Killers”. Technically, the Killer’s is a glorified gravy packed with 3 different pork products, cooked sausage links, ham and bacon, plus a mix of sauteed onions, bell peppers and cheese. The Killers don’t just grace the top of hash browns, however. You can order them over the top of an omelette, biscuits or, my personal favorite, a chicken fried steak. In this recipe I’m going to show you how to do it for about $10 bucks and it should easily feed 2 to 4 people.

Killer’s mix with cooked sausage, ham, bacon, onions and bell peppers.

What I use to make Killer Hash Browns

There isn’t just one way to go about making these Killer Hash Browns. You can change it up any way that you see fit. I’m going to include all of the links for each of the recipes here too. For example, you’re going to need either a frozen bag of Hash Browns or Fresh Potatoes to grade your own. You’re also going to need to make a Breakfast Gravy. You can cheat and use a powdered pack, like I do in the video tutorial, or you can make your own favorite recipe if you have one.

As I mentioned before, you’re going to need sausage, ham and bacon. A pound of each will be plenty. Also, one chopped Onion and Bell Pepper but feel free to add or supplement any ingredient. Mushrooms would be a nice addition. The rest of the basic ingredients will be listed below.

Killer Hash Browns video tutorial by Poor Man’s Gourmet Kitchen.

Killer Hash Browns Ingredients:

1 bag frozen Hash Browns
1 lb Sausage, links
1 lb Bacon, sliced
1 lb Ham, diced
1 Onion, diced
1 Bell Pepper
1 tbsp Olive Oil
3 tbsp Peanut Oil
1 tbsp Butter
2 cups Breakfast or Country Gravy
Salt and Pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 350° Fahrenheit. Cook sausage for 1 hour, flipping half way through and bacon for 30 minutes. Be sure to watch and follow the instructions in the video tutorial and I’ll show you exactly how to make these Killer Hash Browns.

Turkey Gravy

The Best Turkey Gravy

I am of the opinion that the very best Turkey Gravy is made from the renderings of a Roasted Turkey that was seasoned and brined. So hopefully you followed my Turkey Brine recipe or at least made one before you cooked your bird because this gravy recipe depends on it. There aren’t many additional ingredients to this recipe because most of the ingredients are already there, cooked into the turkey. So, if you’re getting exhausted and you’re looking for an amazing gravy recipe that is easy to prepare… this is the recipe for you!

Traditional vs. Gourmet Turkey Gravy

Traditional Turkey Gravy is made virtually the same with only a few subtle differences. Gourmet gravy has flavors most folks don’t think about that profoundly effect the flavor, like citrus. Some use lemon… I use orange, some use sherry or wine… I use beer but either way, these all produce gravy that is out of this world. All of the other ingredients, as I mentioned before, come from the marination of the brine and the added ingredients to the roasted bird.

My Roasted Turkey, for example, is stuffed with onion, oranges and seasoned butter stuffed under the skin of the breast meat. These ingredients, cooked down in the oven, produce drippings that create the most wonderful flavor and that’s why we use it to make gravy. Traditional gravy uses this method as well only the gravy base is usually started with butter and flavor to make a roux. You can do that too, if your prefer, but I keep the flour out of my recipe and I use a small amount of corn starch instead, to thicken the gravy. I also often start my gravy recipes with bacon grease instead of the butter, because that adds more flavor as well. Other than the addition of the fruit, tomato and rosemary, everything else is basically the same. It’s also common to make a stock, using the turkey giblets, and add that to the gravy for flavor but that will be up to you.

Turkey Gravy Ingredients:

1 Onion, chopped
2 Oranges, pealed and separated
1 Sprig Rosemary
1/4 cup Cider
Add all of the Roasted Turkey Drippings
1/2 can Beer
2 tbsp Corn Starch, mixed with 2 tbsp water
Salt and Pepper to taste, I use white pepper.

Be sure to follow the instructions in the Turkey Gravy video tutorial and I’ll show you just how easy this is to make.