Chicken Breasts with Wild Mushrooms, Thyme and Marsala

Chicken Breasts with Wild Mushrooms, Thyme and Marsala

It has been a beautiful weekend here in the wild, wild west. A long weekend to celebrate a Canadian Thanksgiving. As with all holidays we seem to celebrate for days on end. Saturday L'il Burnt Toast and I celebrated with a lovely luncheon at St. Hubertus for the wine festival. Yesterday I was invited to friends for the "full meal deal" turkey and all the trimmings.



The only thing about not cooking your own turkey is there are absolutely no leftovers!!!!!! Therefore I made a pseudo Thanksgiving feast...plenty to be thankful for!!!!!! I served it with a Wild Rice and Cranberry Stuffing, Maple Glazed Acorn Squash, Creamy Chive Mashed Potatoes and Pumpkin Brulee for dessert.

**Chicken Breasts with Wild Mushrooms, Thyme and Marsala **

adapted from Bon Appétit February 2006

4 large skinless boneless chicken breast halves
6 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme, divided
2 tablespoons butter, divided
2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
12 ounces assorted wild mushrooms (such as oyster, stemmed shiitake, and baby bella), thickly sliced
1 cup sliced shallots (about 5)
3/4 cup low-salt chicken broth
1/2 cup whipping cream
3 tablespoons dry Marsala

Sprinkle chicken breasts with salt and pepper, then 2 teaspoons thyme. Melt 1 tablespoon butter with 1 tablespoon oil in large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add chicken to skillet and sauté until just cooked through, about 7 minutes per side. Transfer chicken to plate; tent with foil to keep warm. Melt remaining 1 tablespoon butter with1 tablespoon oil in same skillet. Add mushrooms, shallots, and 2 teaspoons thyme. Sauté until mushrooms are brown and tender, about 6 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Transfer to bowl.Combine broth, cream, Marsala, and remaining 2 teaspoons marjoram in same skillet; boil until thickened and reduced to 1/2 cup, about 5 minutes. Season sauce with salt and pepper. Divide mushrooms among 4 plates. Top mushrooms with chicken. Spoon sauce over and serve.

Serves 4

**Wild Rice and Pecan Bake**

2 – 10 –ounce cans undiluted chicken broth
1-1/2 cups water
1 large onion
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 tablespoons butter, preferably unsalted or 2 tsp. dark sesame oil
1 cup wild rice
4 green onions
3 large stalks celery
1 cup long-grain white rice
½ cup dried cranberries
1 cup toasted whole pecans

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Pour broth and water into a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil over high heat. Meanwhile, coarsely chop onion. Stir into broth along with garlic sand butter. Thoroughly rinse wild rice under cold running water. Drain well. Place in a baking dish large enough to hold 8 cups. Pour hot broth mixture over wild rice. Stir, then cover and bake in centre of preheated oven for 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, thinly slice green onions. Coarsely chop celery. Celery should measure about 2 cups. When wild rice has baked 20 minutes, remove from oven. Stir in celery, white rice and raisins. Return dish to oven. Continue baking, covered, until rice is tender and most of liquid has evaporated, from 35 to 40 more minutes. Remove from oven. Let stand, covered, 10 minutes to absorb liquid. Stir in green onions and pecans.

Serves 6 to 8