Comfy Cuisine- Home Recipes from Family & Friends: Chicken Madeira

Ok…I really had to fix this one.  This was a copykat recipe from the Cheesecake Factory which I had recently. Of course it didn’t come anywhere near what I had.  That’s what I get for being a copykat…nah nah nah nah nah!  I think Chef Pablo is not giving away anything! This is a sauteed chicken topped with asparagus and melted cheese. All topped with mushrooms in a Madeira wine sauce.  Served with a generous portion of mashed potatoes. I’m giving you the recipe as I found it….with my changes.

  • 2 Tbsp. olive oil
  • 4 boneless chicken breast
  • Fresh Asparagus spears
  • Mozzarella cheese
  • 2 cups sliced mushrooms
  • 3 cups Madeira wine (One cup is sufficient)
  • 2 cups beef stock
  • 2 Tbsp. butter
  • 1/2 tsp. freshly ground black pepper

Cover chicken breast with plastic wrap; pound to 1/4-inch thick.  Sprinkle each chicken breast with salt and pepper.  Heat 1 tablespoon olive in frying pan over medium high heat.  Saute breasts 4-6 minutes per side until done and browned just a bit. Remove from pan and wrap in foil to keep warm while you make the sauce.  In the same pan that you sauteed the chicken add 1 tablespoon olive oil and add sliced mushrooms; saute for about 2 minutes.  Add Madeira wine, beef stock, butter and pepper.  Bring to a boil then reduce heat; simmer 20 minutes until reduced to about 1/2 original volume.  When sauce is done it will be thick……………this did not happen.  I reduced it an additional 20 minutes and it did not thicken.  I added 1 tsp. cornstarch with a little water..A little better.  This was a very sweet sauce.  The dish I had tasted more like a beefy barbeque sauce.  I added the following:  1 tsp. Worcestershire Sauce and 1 tsp. Jack Daniels Spicy Original Barbeque Sauce.  This came close to what I had. While sauce is reducing, bring a pan of water to a boil.  Add salt to water; blanch asparagus 3-5 minutes and drop into ice water to stop cooking.  Set oven to broil. In baking dish arrange chicken, cross 2 asparagus stems over each piece of chicken and top with a slice of cheese.  Broil until cheese melts.  To serve, top with 3-4 Tablespoons sauce.

It’s a lovely presentation and very easy to make.