Chicken Marsala

I've made chicken marsala before, but never, ever has it turned out as delicious as this one from A Taste of Home Cooking. I believe she adapted it from America's Test Kitchen, and even though their whole blog drama kind of turned me off, I guess they do know what they're talking about.

I really can't say enough about this dish. It was so unbelievably awesome. Part of this may have been from, however, the fact that I cooked it the night before I intended to eat it... so it kind of hung out in the fridge for 24 hours, marinating in its own yumminess.

(Oh, I didn't add the pancetta because I forgot to buy it.)

Even Ryan, the meat-hater, ate a bunch of this!

Ingredients

• 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• 1 cup flour
• salt and pepper
• 2 tablespoon oil
• 2 ½ oz. (about 3 slices) pancetta, cut into 1 by 1/8 in. pieces
• 8 oz. white mushrooms, sliced
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 teaspoon tomato paste
• 1 ½ cups Marsala
• 1 ½ tablespoon lemon juice
• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into 4 pieces
• 2 tablespoons minced fresh parsley

Pat the chicken breasts dry. Place flour in a shallow baking dish or pie plate. Season both sides of chicken with salt and pepper. Coat both side of each piece of chicken with flour. Meanwhile, heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat until shimmering. Place the floured chicken in a single layer in the skillet and cook until golden brown, about 5 minutes per side. Transfer chicken to a plate and return the skillet to low heat and add the pancetta. Sauté, stirring occasionally and scraping the pan bottom with a wooden spoon to loosen the browned bits, until the pancetta is browned and crisp, about 4 minutes. With a slotted spoon, transfer the pancetta to paper towels to drain.

Add the mushrooms to the pan and increase the heat to medium-high. Sauté, stirring occasionally and scraping pan bottom, until the mushrooms begin to brown, about 8 minutes. Add the garlic, tomato paste, and cooked pancetta and cook, stirring constantly, until the tomato paste begins to brown. Off the heat, add the Marsala.

Return the pan to high heat and simmer vigorously, scraping browned bits from the pan bottom, until the sauce is slightly syrupy and reduced, about 5 minutes. Off the heat, add the lemon juice. Whisk in the butter, one tablespoon at a time, until incorporated. Stir in the parsley and season with salt and pepper to taste. Add the chicken back to the pan and coat with the sauce.