Pollo Don Cristaldi
(Chicken & Pasta in a Marsala Cream Sauce)

INGREDIENTS (Serves 1-2)
1/4 Red Onion
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Salt & Pepper
5 ounces of Marsala Cooking Wine
5 ounces of Light Cream or Half & Half
1/4 Fresh Lemon
2 Small Chicken Cutlets
2 Cloves Garlic
Fresh Broccoli
7 White Button Mushrooms
12 Dozen Medium Shrimp (Optional)

This is my own invention.  It's almost too good to share with everyone, but I have to put it here, because I may forget it, and that is the whole point of having this recipe archive here, so that I can access it should I ever forget a minor detail. I want to keep it around for everyone to enjoy in case of my untimely demise.  Also, you will notice that it says "serves 1-2".  This is a personal thing, if I am making for myself I only add in about 1 chicken cutlet and 7 shrimp or so.  But, if its for a giant portion, obviously make the whole thing, but if you are sharing with that special someone, this dish easily serves 2 if you are also serving a small salad, garlic bread and/or dessert.   It is all based on personal preference, but if its for a romantic dinner (and this works well for a romantic dinner), this will more than indulge 2 of you. And no matter what you are making, remember, if there are 2 of you for a romantic dinner, never eat heavy, better to error on the side of not enough than too much.  Just some friendly advice, I won't go into specifics here.   

Boil your water for the pasta, you can use fuisili, rotini or penne rigate, whichever you prefer, I personally like the rotini for this dish.

To carmelize your red onions, in a big thick skillet, heat some olive oil until very hot, almost smoking.  Slice 2 thicker slices of red onion, then in half.  Break apart, reduce the heat on the pan to low and add in the red onion.  Stir a few times so it does not all burn.  Continue to cook for about 25 minutes.  Deglaze with your Marsala wine, add the squeeze of lemon juice and 2 cloves of smashed garlic (just smash the garlic cloves with the broad part of the knife so it gives off flavor, you can keep the cloves whole, no need to mince or slice them so you can remove them later).     

Salt & Pepper your boneless chicken cutlets to your liking on both sides.  Add it to the pan, cooking on both sides for a few minutes, but do not overcook, you can even undercook it since you will be adding it to the pan again eventually.  Remove, drain on a paper towel.  

Add in your broccoli and freshly sliced mushrooms, allow to cook for 5 minutes.  Add in your cream, mix together well.  Continue to cook at low heat.  By this time you should be able to add your pasta to the boiling water.   Cook the pasta according to directions.  At this time, slice up your chicken cutlets into thin strips, and add it back into the pan with the marsala cream sauce. If you chose to add shrimp to this dish, now is the time to add that as well. When your pasta is done cooking, drain, but not completely, add it to the pan with the sauce and continue to cook for a couple of more minutes, stirring often so all the flavors mix with the pasta, chicken and even some of the pasta water that it will retain.  If it is too watery, just turn up the heat to burn it off, but there is no written rule that says the sauce must be too thick or thin, I just opt for something in between.  Serve with garlic bread and a light salad with olive oil, lemon juice and balsamic vinegar, just a pinch of salt, pepper and squeeze of lemon.

Wine Notes:  A lighter chianti works well with this dish, since the marsala wine in the dish is sweet, you can either stick with a dry red wine to offset, or a sweeter, perhaps even white wine to keep it sweet, the choice is yours, and a personal one, but nothing too heavy.  

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