Chicken Madeira

I always have this whenever I go out with my girlfriend to the Cheesecake Factory.  Although this dish is usually served with asparagus, I did not feel like going out in the cold to just buy the asparagus so I opted to use steamed broccoli.  The sauce itself is sweet and nice with a hint of reduced Madeira wine. Usually the sauce is little brown but i just added some cream of mushroom since the kids could taste the wine and was complaining about it. Otherwise I would be making this often....such a delightful dish.

Ingredients


4-6  pieces of split boneless chicken breasts, pounded thin
1/2 cup of cornstarch
1 1/2 teaspoons of salt
1/2 teaspoon of pepper
4-5 tablespoons of butter
1/4 cup of olive oil
12 ounces of  mushrooms, sliced
2  cups of Madeira wine
1  cup beef broth
8 ounces of mozzarella, sliced
1 tablespoon of water
Salt and pepper to taste

Method

• Split chicken breasts in half, put into a plastic bag and use a mallet to pound the breasts. Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a large frying pan or saute pan.  In a shallow dish, mix together 1/2 cup cornstarch, 1 1/2 teaspoons of salt, and 1/2 teaspoon of pepper.  Dredge the chicken in the mixture and  cook the chicken in batches until brown and cooked through.  Dish out and set aside.
• To the same pan, add mushrooms.  If the pan is very dry, add another 1 tablespoon of butter.  Cook the mushrooms over medium heat for about 8 minutes or until the mushrooms are tender, scraping up brown bits from the bottom of the pan and stirring occasionally.
• Add wine to the pan with mushrooms and bring to a boil. Add beef broth.  Simmer for ten minutes, stirring occasionally. At this point if sauce is too watery, add some cornstarch mixed with water to thicken sauce.
• While the sauce is cooking, top chicken pieces with slices of mozzarella.  Heat in oven for about 15 minutes or until the cheese is melted and the chicken is heated through.  
• When the chicken is done, remove to a plate and serve topped with wine/mushroom sauce.  A big scoop of mashed potato and asparagus. ( In my case, I used broccoli)