Chicken Madeira

I recently babysat for my sister and brother-in-law when they went to the Cheesecake Factory for their anniversary. When they got home my sister told me she ordered Chicken Madeira. I had forgotten that the one time I had it, it was really good. I usually get Chicken Marsala and the two dishes are pretty similar so I tried it to see what the difference was. Chicken Madeira is made with Madeira wine and beef stock, while Chicken Marsala is made with Marsala wine and chicken stock. The Cheesecake Factory serves Chicken Madeira with asparagus (which I am not particularly fond of) and mashed potatoes, while they serve Chicken Marsala with bow tie pasta. Both dishes have mushrooms, which I love! My local wine and beer store only had Paul Masson Madeira Wine, so that is what I used. Since I had never made this before and was not sure how much wine/beef stock mixture would be left, I made pasta, because that leftover mixture over pasta tastes delicious!

Paul Masson Madeira Wine (photo from wine-searcher.com)

Photo from www.myboyfrienddatedachef.com

I found two recipes for this dish and the one made is adapted from the other. The comments on that recipe made it seem like a better choice. The only differences in the two are the amounts of beef stock and wine used and the addition of corn starch to thicken the sauce mixture up. The recipe I used can be found here.

I made a few changes to this recipe. First, I used chicken tenders rather than chicken breasts. I took the wrong ones out of the freezer by accident, but the chicken tenders were actually the perfect size and much easier to pound thin. Second, I did not make the asparagus or put mozzarella on top. I also made pasta instead of mashed potatoes. The chicken came out really good but I thought it could use a little salt. So next time I will add some salt into the sauce. Other than that, it was delicious and I will definitely be making it again!

Chicken Madeira

CHICKEN:

1 Tablespoon olive oil

4 boneless chicken breasts

8-12 asparagus spears

4 slices mozzarella

SAUCE:

2 Tablespoons olive oil

2 cups fresh sliced mushrooms

1½ cups Madeira wine

1 cup beef stock

1 Tablespoon butter

¼ teaspoon ground black pepper

3 Tablespoons corn starch

Cover chicken breasts with plastic wrap; pound to ¼-inch thick. Sprinkle each fillet with salt and pepper.

Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in frying pan over medium-high heat. Sauté fillets for 4-6 minutes per side until done and browned just a bit. Remove from pan and wrap in foil to keep warm while you make the sauce.

In chicken pan add olive oil and sliced mushrooms; sauté for about 2 minutes. Add Madeira wine, beef stock, butter, pepper and corn starch. Bring to boil, then reduce heat; cover and simmer for 20 minutes until reduced to about ½ original volume. When sauce is done it will be thick and brown.

While sauce is reducing, bring a pan of water to boil. Add salt to water at boil; blanch asparagus (3-5 minutes). Drop asparagus in ice water to halt cooking.

Set oven to broil. In baking dish arrange chicken: cross 2-3 asparagus stems over each piece of chicken and top with a slice of cheese. Broil until cheese melts.

To serve, top chicken with 3-4 tablespoons of sauce on each piece.

Recommended side: mashed potatoes are delicious with this dish.

Photos by JoJo

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