I finally cooked! And remembered to take a picture!

One of the reasons I tried to start cooking more is that we eat out SO much...it's not too friendly on the budget. So, in honor of eating out, I thought I would try to whip up a recipe that's reminiscent of one of my favorite restaurant dishes - Chicken Madeira from The Cheesecake Factory. I found the recipe on a message board, but could not trace the original source. This was the first time I tried, and would do things a little differently next time - a little less Madeira wine (probably cut it down to 2 cups) and then dust the chicken breasts with a little flour before browning. All in all, though, it's a good recipe and a pretty good copy cat for The Cheesecake Factory's dish!

"CHEESECAKE FACTORY" Chicken Madeira

Chicken:

1 TBS Olive oil

4 boneless, skinless chicken breast fillets

8 asparagus spears

4 mozzerella cheese slices

Sauce:

2 TBS Olive oil

2 cups sliced fresh mushrooms (I used the pre-cut baby bellas)

3 cups Madeira wine (I used the cheapest bottle possible)

2 cups beef stock

1 TBS butter

1/4 tsp Ground black pepper

Heat up 1 TBS olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Cover each chicken breast with plastic wrap and use a mallet to flatten the chicken to about 1/4 inch thick. Sprinkle each fillet with salt and pepper.

Saute the chicken fillets for 4-6 minutes per side, or until the cihcken has browned just a bit and is cooked throughout. Remove chicken filets from the pan and keep warm. Don't clean the pan!

With the heat still on medium, add two TBS of olive oil to the skilet. Add the sliced mushrooms and saute for about 2 minutes. Add Madeira wine, beef stock, butter and pepper. Bring the sauce to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for about 20 minutes or until the stock has reduced to about 1/4 of its original volume. When the sauce is done it will have thickened and turned a dark brown color.

As the sauce is simmering, steam your asparagus. The asparagus should be slightly tender when done, not mushy. Set oven to broil. Prepare the dish by arranging the cooked chicken on a baking pan. Cross two asparagus spears over each fillet, then cover each with a slice of mozzarella cheese. Broil the fillets for 3-4 minutes or until light brown spots begin to appear on the cheese. To serve, arrange two chicken breasts on each plate, then spoon 3-4 TBS of madeira sauce over the chicken.,