As a follow up to my last post about Chef Liz Scott’s incredible cookbook, The Sober Kitchen, I want to share with you her recipe for Chicken with Mock Marsala Sauce. As one of the most popular and frequently requested recipes on my site, Chef Scott takes this classic Italian recipe and provides you a alcohol free version that should satisfy anyone who tries it.

Chef Scott is a professional chef and caterer who specialize in preparing foods rich in nutritional needs for anyone recovering from illness and disease including alcohol and drug dependence. As a graduate of The French Culinary Institute in New York City, she has focused her talents by helping others in recovery.

Chicken Mock Marsala from The Sober Kitchen

Chicken and Veal Marsala are typically made with the fortified wine, Marsala, combined with chicken or veal stock and reduced to a pan sauce. Sometimes mushrooms and cream are also added.

You can see another version for Chicken Marsala with the classic wine on my web site. I even wrote an ecookbook called Chicken Marsala Perfected with the help of my friend Chef Ricco. It is more than a recipe but a cooking lesson for sautéing and making pan sauces.

For Chef Scott to make a “Marsala free” version, she needed to find a way to substitute ingredients that would replicate the flavor provided by Marsala wine as well as thicken the sauce.

A combination of white grape juice and sherry vinegar is “a standard wine substitution” and “with a dark, full-flavored broth, you’ll get the consistency and color”. She then added a little vanilla to “wake up the sauce”. Combined, these ingredients will make a delicious mock Marsala sauce that will have your family and friends guessing what are the ingredients.

Chef Scott’s cookbook, The Sober Kitchen is filled with creative ideas like this. I have been reading her book for the past few days and am amazed at how much I am learning about nutrition and how my diet affects my personality. Liz doesn’t come across as one of those boring experts. Just the opposite, her writing is very conversational and filled with simple suggestions that have me thinking about food in a new way.

Here’s her recipe for Mock Chicken Marsala. Chef Scott says if you are going to add mushrooms, “brown them quickly in the pan after you remove the chicken fillets and before you add the juice and stock.” Be sure to slice the mushrooms thin.

Ingredients

• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
• ¼ cup olive oil
• 1-pound thin-cut chicken breast fillets
• Salt and pepper to taste
• All-purpose flour for dredging
• ½ cup low-sodium beef broth or veal stock
• ¼ cup white grape juice
• 2 tablespoons sherry vinegar
• 1-tablespoon nonalcoholic vanilla extract

How to Make Mock Chicken Marsala at Home

1. In a large nonstick skillet, melt the butter in the oil over medium heat. Sprinkle the chicken on both sides with salt and pepper and lightly dredge in flour, tapping off any excess. Fry the fillets, without crowding, until lightly browned, about 3minutes per side. Transfer to a warm platter and set aside.

2. Add the broth, grape juice, and vinegar to the skillet, increase the heat to high, and stir, scrapping up any browned bits from the bottom. Cook until the liquid has reduced by half, than stir in the vanilla and taste for seasoning. Pour the sauce over the chicken and serve immediately.

Don’t Throw Out That Roasted Chicken Carcass

Question: When you roast a whole chicken for dinner or buy a rotisserie chicken at the market, what do you do with the carcass after cutting most of the meat off?

I bet many of you just toss it. I often do but last night I again realized what a mistake this is. Instead use it to make a simple chicken broth you can use to make a quick and easy chicken soup. It cannot be easier and the flavor is so much better than anything you can buy in a can.

I’m not talking about making a classic chicken stock that does take time to do properly. I’m talking about covering the chicken with water in a large saucepan or small soup pot and let it simmer for an hour or more with the lid mostly on.

You can remove most of the already cooked meat and just simmer the carcass or leave whatever meat is on the bird and remove it after you are done. Whatever is easier for you.

Last night, I let the carcass simmer for about a 1½ hours while I helped the kids with their homework and worked out. When it was done and the liquid had plenty of flavor, I removed the carcass and any remaining bones from the liquid and added some chopped carrots and celery.

While the carrots and celery were cooking, I removed most of the edible meat from the bones and reserved it until the carrots and celery were tender but still a little crunchy. I could have added leeks or fennel or broccoli but this was for my oldest daughter and me and this is what she wanted. You can add whatever you like or want to clean out of the refrigerator. It’s going to be good.

When the vegetables were done, I added the reserved chicken meat and some store bought cheese tortellinis that I just cooked for my younger daughter who doesn’t like chicken soup. I could have added cooked pasta; egg noodles or even cooked the pasta in the chicken broth. It could not be easier. This is a classic shortcut meal.

This simple chicken soup was incredibly flavorful. So much better than any commercial soup you can find. The flavors are fresh and clean without all the salt and artificial flavorings.

And to think, I almost threw out that carcass.

101 Ways to Make Chicken Salad

Making chicken salad on a hot summer night couldn’t be easier, especially if you have leftover roasted chicken from the night before. Whether you roast the chicken yourself or buy a rotisserie chicken at your local market, one of the best ways to use up leftovers is cut it up to pieces and make chicken salad.

There must be 101 ways to make chicken salad depending on what you have on hand to toss into it. I’m sure everyone has a favorite recipe from his or her mom or great aunt but in our house, we usually go with what’s on hand or in the refrigerator and get creative.

Basically, chicken salad is chicken, chopped up vegetables; some sort of fruit and a dressing that typically has mayonnaise associated with it. A classic chicken salad could be just chicken, celery, mayo and salt & pepper. That’s it. That simple.

Instead of giving you exact recipe with measured out ingredients, I’d wanted to give you some ideas as to what you can try in your own recipe. I’m not giving you measurements because I never make the same chicken salad twice and really don’t have them. I suppose if you come up with the most amazing homemade chicken salad recipe ever, you may want to write it down so you can make it again some time.

This list is by no means exhausted but it’s a good start. I encourage you to experiment with all your favorite ingredients and if you come up with something special, add it to the comments below.

A Few Simple Suggestions

• Don’t add too many additional ingredients. – Sometimes less is more. You want to combine various ingredients that work well together but don’t completely overpower the flavor of the chicken. They are there to add flavor, color and texture but if you put too many of them together, it will really confuse your taste buds.

• Prepare all the non-dressing ingredients together separately from the dressing ingredients. – You want the chicken, vegetables and fruit to be balanced just like you want the dressing to be balanced. If you are simply using mayonnaise, the task is easy, but if you start adding other ingredients to the mayo, it gets a little trickier.

• Don’t add all the dressing to the chicken mixture at one time. You don’t want to overpower the chicken with dressing. It is easier to add more than try to remove excess dressing and remember nothing is worse than an over dressed salad.
  Customize the mayonnaise by adding ingredients that you like and will work with the rest of the ingredients.

• Check for seasonings at the end especially salt and pepper

• Chicken salad makes great sandwiches, you can also serve it with a salad or on a bed of lettuce. – The art of making a great chicken salad sandwich has as much to do with the type of bread you are serving it on, but that’s a subject for another blog. Since my wife isn’t eating bread these days, we typically serve it with a salad. I eat the leftovers on bread the next day if there is any left.

Classic Chicken Salad Ingredient Suggestions besides the Chicken and Mayonnaise

• Celery
• Onion
• Carrot
• Peppers
• Seedless grapes

Alternative Ingredients

• Toasted almond slivers
• Capers – drained
• Chopped sweet pickles or pickle relish
• Water chestnuts
• Hard-boiled eggs, chopped
• Nuts – walnuts, pecans, cashews, pine nuts, sesame seeds
• Fruits- apple slices, pear, raisins, cranberries, craisins, tomato, avocado, olives, mandarin oranges, cherries
• Vegetables – asparagus, cucumber,
• Cheese – hard cheese, grated or thin slices of soft cheese

Mayonnaise Additions

• Herbs – basil, parsley, tarragon, chervil, chives, sage, mint
• Spices – ginger, dry mustard, honey mustard, paprika, oregano
• Chutney
• Jam or preserves
• Honey
• Citrus juice – lemon, orange, grapefruit
• Peanut butter
• Vinegar
• Soy Sauce
• Hot Sauce
• Maple syrup
• Yogurt

What Are Your Favorite Ingredient Combinations

Let me know how you like your chicken salad in the comments section below.