we went to the cheesecake factory...

....at our house.
Yep I made a cheesecake factory dish. The chicken madeira dish. Kevin gets this every time we go (ok we have only been there twice) and he absolutely loves it and talks about how good it is the whole time.
I went to work tonight, switched tonight's shift for friday night, and drove back home. On this drive home I had the urge to impress the husband with my cooking skills so I stopped at a state liquor store. I was scared. I have never been to one. But to make this you need the key ingredient: madeira port wine. Since my work has taught me all about wine, how you serve wine, how you pair wine and how you cook with wine, I walked into the liquor store with confidence. And it wasn't too bad, especially for someone who doesn't drink. I found exactly what I wanted ($6 bottle, booyah!), handed my drivers license to the checker since I knew he wouldn't make one move of letting me buy that bottle until he had proof I wasn't 14. And I walked out with the bottle in a brown paper bag. It felt weird.

So here is the recipe. Know that this is actually really simple and easy. I was quite surprised. Just make sure you cook the sauce on high for a good 20-30 minutes to let all the alcohol evaporate. If you don't, it will taste yucko. And I only know this because at our anniversary dinner at the Zermatt, I had some tirimisu for dessert. And when I took a bite, alcohol seeped out and I almost gagged and had to spit it out. It did not taste good. So now I assume that that is how all alcohol tastes.

Chicken Madeira

1 Tb olive oil
4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
8 asparagus spears
4 slices mozzarella cheese
2 Tb olive oil
2 cups fresh cut mushrooms
3 cups madeira wine
2 cups beef stock (I used chicken broth)
3 Tb flour
1 Tb butter
salt and pepper to taste

Add olive oil to a large skillet over medium heat.
You can flatten the chicken breasts so they are about 1/4 inch think, or what I did, butterfly them. Sprinkle them with salt and pepper.
Saute the chicken until browned. Mine were still a little pink. so I just broiled them for longer later.
Remove from pan, do not clean pan.
Add the 2 Tb olive oil, and then the mushrooms. Saute for 2 minutes.
Add the 3 cups madeira wine. Bring to a boil and simmer for 5-8 minutes.
Add 1 cup beef broth with 1 Tb butter
In a cup or bowl, combine the remaining 1 cup broth with the 3 Tb flour. Mix well. Then slowly incorporate this into the skillet.
Bring all this to a boil and simmer on med-high for a good 20 minutes. Keep your eye on it, it will reduce quickly at the end. This is the point, to reduce, but you don't want to reduce too much. When the sauce is a dark brown and thick, it is finished.

Now to finish, broil the chicken until completely cooked through and then top them with the mozarella cheese and asparagus and broil until melted.
Spoon the reduction over.

Kevin absolutely looooooved this. He recognized it right when he smelled it. I was proud.
Sadly, the only way to make this is with the madeira wine. Nothing can substitute. The flavors blended into this port wine are the flavors needed for the sauce. Good thing it was only $6! They had a bunch to choose from but they ranged from $14-$70. I was so happy to find the $6 cheapo bottle at the bottom.

All my latest posts are recipes. I guess I am on a cooking rampage. Husband is so lucky.