The Chef: Levi Winters

From Staff Reports

The Chefs column highlights our local culinary masters. They share a recipe that has a lot of meaning to them and thankfully, how to make it. (Well at least most of it, sometimes secrets must remain that.) This month’s chef is … Levi Winters.

Chef Levi

This is one of those dishes that looks really, really complicated. It’s not. But it sure is delicious. 

We are trotting this out because Youngest SON of Thunder will be having his first go at this recipe for some family friends. The photos are from that evening.

As we note below, we really aren’t into specific cups, teaspoons and other measurements. This is merely a guide. Want more Marsala? Please, be our guests. Thicker? Add some flour. Creamier? Add more heavy cream.

Just make it yours. Enjoy!

Chicken Marsala

4 tablespoons of butter
4 skinless, boneless chicken breasts, pounded to 1/4-inch thickness
4 green onions, finely chopped
2 tablespoons of garlic
1/2 pound of mushrooms, sliced
1/2 cup (okay we use more) dry Marsala
1/2 cup heavy cream
2 tablespoons of lemon juice

Cut the breasts in half. The best way to pound the chicken breasts is to get a meat pounder/tenderizer. Place one breast between saran wrap or some other type of plastic and pound gently from the inside out. If you hit it too hard, it will tear through. And as you hit, push outward. The breast will thin and spread out – shoot for the thickness of a pencil – and don’t bring out some damn ruler, or a pencil. Just play with it, that’s the whole point.

In a large frying pan, melt 2 tablespoons of butter over medium heat. Add the chicken and sauté, turning a couple of times. Each side should be lightly brown/golden in color. It will probably take just a couple of minutes on each side. Remove and set aside.

Note: We are not into “X” minutes, because it’s different with every stove, every cook. Just cook the chicken, but make sure it’s still moist on the inside.

Melt remaining butter in the same pan. Add green onions and mushrooms. Cook until the mushrooms are soft. Add the Marsala and bring to a boil, scraping up the bottom bits and mixing well. Add the cream and lemon juice. Return to a boil and season with salt and pepper.

Add the chicken to the pan and cook, turning the meat in the sauce for a short time. Be careful to not let the sauce burn, and feel free to turn down the heat.

The chicken should already be cooked, so you’re basically just warming it back up. After you’ve done that, put the chicken on a plate and pour the sauce over it. You determine how much sauce; there are no rules in our kitchen.