Chicken Madeira

My husband and I celebrated our birthdays together by going to Cheesecake Factory (Our birthdays are only 3 days apart). I ordered a Chicken Madeira, and by golly it was sooooooooo delicious! I mean it! I was like, I have got to have a recipe of this. Few months later, my husband and I got tired of eating same type of recipes for chicken and wanted to try something new. I thought of Chicken Madeira and suggested it to my husband. He said that he would love to try it. I went on a research spree to find out exactly what was in it and found a website and I copied the ingredients and tweaked it a bit to our liking. It turned out fantastic and I guarantee you that you will NOT regret trying this recipe. It actually very cheap and easy to make this entree, even better than I thought.

RECIPE:  serves 4

1 tbsp olive oil
4 boneless skinless chicken breast
12 asparagus spears
4 sliced mozzarella cheese (shredded works fine, but bit messier)
3 cups Madeira wine
2 cups beef broth
1 tbsp butter
1/4 tsp black pepper
1 tsp cornstarch
Mushrooms - Optional

1. Pound the chicken breast to 1/4 inch thick then place the chicken in a large frying pan coated with olive oil. Season them with salt and pepper to your taste. (I used peppers only).

2. Saute the chicken until it's barely done then take it out and set it aside. Remove oil.

3. Preheat the oven to a broil setting.

4. Add wine, beef broth, cornstarch, butter, and peppers to the frying pan. (Make sure you blended cornstarch with beef broth first before adding to the pan to avoid clumps) Bring to a boil then reduce heat.
5. Put chickens back in the sauce and let it simmer for 20 minutes or until the sauce is thick. (If the sauce is still not thick, you can add a little more cornstarch.) The sauce is supposed to shrink in half than it originally was.

5. When the sauce is almost ready, add the asparagus into the sauce with the chickens until the end. (Optional: add mushroom to the sauce.)

6. Once done cooking, place the chicken on a baking pan or dish, arrange three asparagus on top of each chicken then put mozzarella cheese over it. Bake it until cheese melts then serve hot!

This entree goes great with mashed potato. You can pour remaining sauce over mashed potato and chicken. It is even more delicious to be able to enjoy this gourmet taste.

Chocolate Brownie Trifle

At my wedding, my husband ate my aunt's trifle and he loved it. I had tasted it and it was wonderful. Many months had passed and my husband's grandparents and aunt/uncle were invited to our house for a dinner party.  I asked my husband what he would like me to make for dessert. He said "something chocolatey with whipped cream that you made." I was having difficulty trying to remember what he was trying to tell me. Then I  flashed back to our wedding menus and asked if the trifle was the one he was talking about. He got so excited and said "YES!" I warned him that I had never made something like that before; so, I told him that I will try to make it for the dinner party. It was a last minute dinner party and I doubted I had a lot of time on my plate to be making a bunch of food and have it ready in time, but I pulled it off! Yay me! I did tons of researches on trifles and how to make it. Boy, do I have to be amazed that most of them must be chilled in the fridge for at least 8 hours! I did not have that time but I kept looking and found the perfect ingredients that only required the trifle to be chilled for an hour or two before serving. I was being creative and it turned out delicious!! This is great for a party.

RECIPE  serves approximately 16 people (1/2 cup each)

1 large box of instant chocolate pudding
1/4 cup sugar
1 pint heavy whipping cream
1 package of brownie mix
6 bars of Hershey chocolate candy

1. First, put the chocolate bars in the freezer.

2. Prepare the brownie as directed on the box.

3. When the brownie is already baked, make sure it is cooled first. Then cut the brownie into 1 inch squares and set aside.

4. Second, make the chocolate pudding as directed on the box and then put them in the fridge to help chill it quickly.

5. Third, pour a pint of heavy whipping cream in a medium to large chilled bowl (I put the metal bowl in the freezer to help chill the bowl quickly) and use an electric mixer to whisk it for about 2 minutes then slowly add 1/4 cup of sugar and then continue to whisk until it is at its stiff peak then set aside.

6. Take the candies out of the freezer and hammer it to crush it into pieces. (I left it in the freezer wrapped and then smashed it with a hammer before opening the wrapper for a quicker process).

7. It is now time to make a layer. Use an appropriate large serving bowl or a trifle bowl and layer them in the following order: brownie, chocolate pudding, candies, and whipped cream. Save a portion of candies to decorate on top of whipped cream after layering it. Put it in the fridge and let it chill for 1 to 2 hours before serving. Enjoy!

You can substitute the brownie with any type of cake mix and candies with any other type of candies OR fruits, preferably berries. You can also substitute chocolate flavor pudding with different pudding flavor like vanilla! What I would not change is the whipped cream. It tastes great and does not tastes too sweet than necessary. A drizzle of syrup will also work great! You be the judge on how you want the trifle made.

 BE CREATIVE!