BLACKENED CHICKEN BREAST WITH GF CORNBREAD SAUSAGE STUFFING & MARSALA WINE SAUCE

• This recipe may appear to be a bit laborious to make, however once you have assembled all of the ingredients you can put it together rather quickly. It only takes about 10 minutes to cook the stuffing, 2 minutes to sear and blacken the chicken breast, and 10 minutes to cook the stuffing. While the chicken is baking you can make the Marsala Mushroom Sauce (or even make it the day before and heat it up while the chicken breast is in the oven). The stuffing recipe will actually make about 10 or 12 servings and you will only need a few tablespoons for the chicken breast (maybe a cup at the most), so you could actually make that ahead of time, too. (I made the stuffing first. After cooking it I reserved enough to stuff the chicken and placed the remainder in a 9" x 13" baking dish sprayed with cooking oil and baked it along with the chicken breast.

I will present this recipe to you in the order that I used to prepare it. (This is really a combination of 3 separate recipes, but I don't think it would be practical to try and present separately).

Step 1: INGREDIENTS & PREPARATION OF THE CHICKEN BREAST: (for 2 Servings)

INGREDIENTS:

1. 1 chicken breast (about 16 ounces - this one weighed 18 oz), boneless, skinless, raw
2. 2 TBS + 1 teaspoon *Garlic-pepper oil (you can use plain oil if you prefer) - reserve the 1 teaspoon
3. 1 TBS Badia Blackened Redfish Seasoning (or a similar dry rub)
4. 1/2 teaspoon coarse grind black pepper
5. 1/4 teaspoon Diamond Crystal Kosher Salt

PREPARATION

1. Butterfly the chicken breast with a very sharp knife.
2. Place the opened breast between two sheets of waxed paper and pound it so that both sides are fairly flat and even.
3. Spread 1/2 teaspoon of garlic oil over the shiny side (the outside) of the chicken breast and dust it thoroughly with the 1 TBS of blackened seasoning.
4. Flip the breast over, spread 1/2 teaspoon of garlic oil over the inside of the breast and season with the S&P.
5. Keep the now seasoned chicken breast wrapped in wax paper while you make the stuffing This will give the chicken breast some time to absorb the dry rub) (you can fold the two halves together to save space if necessary).

• *Garlilc-pepper Oil: I made my own. If you want to try it, all you have to do is smash & peel the cloves from a head of garlic and place them in a small heavy saucepan. Add 1 TBS peppercorns (I used a melange); cover with 1 cup olive oil, and heat over low to medium-low heat. until bubbles begin to form, then simmer for 45 minutes (you don't want the garlic to brown; if it starts to do so, reduce the heat). After 45 minutes, let the oil cool; the bottle in a small mason jar or non-porous container. You will have to store it in the refrigerator. (This is basically a Martha Stewart recipe to which I added the peppercorns).

Step 2: INGREDIENTS & PREPARATION OF THE STUFFING (10 to 12 Servings)

INGREDIENTS:

1. 1 lb bulk hot Italian Sausage (you can use sweet or mild if you prefer)
2. 1/4 cup unsalted butter
3. 1 cup chopped raw celery (about 2 stalks_
4. 1 cup chopped raw red onion (white or sweet is OK) (about 1/2 medium onion)
5. 2 1/2 cups unsalted Chicken Stock or broth
6. 1 pkg Pepperidge Farm Herb Seasoned Cornbread Stuffing Mix
7. 2 TBS EVOO (used to cook sausage)

PREPARATION:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

1. Place 2 TBS EVOO in a heavy ovenproof pan or cast iron skillet and heat over medium-high heat.
2. When oil is hot, add sausage to skillet and break up with a wooden spoon (or potato masher).
3. Stir fry quickly until most of the "pink" is gone (don't over cook it; it will also be baked).
4. When cooked, remove from pan and set aside to cool a bit.
5. Melt butter in a heavy 3 1/2 to 4 quart saucepan.
6. When butter is hot, add the celery and onion and cook until tender-crisp (about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
7. Add the chicken stock or broth to the pan and bring it to a boil
8. Remove boiling mixture from burner and stir in the stuffing mix.
9. Add the cooked sausage to the pan, stir to completely blend, taste for seasonings; add if necessary.

Set stuffing aside momentarily and proceed to next step.

Step 3: STUFF & BAKE THE CHICKEN BREAST

1. Add 2 TBS of Garlic-pepper oil the skillet used to cook the sausage and heat over high heat (you can use EVOO)
2. When the oil is hot, add the butterflied chicken breast blackened side down and quickly sear for 1 minute.
3. Flip the breast over and sear the inside for 1 minute.
4. Remove breast from the pan and plate it so that you can add the stuffing.
5. Mound about a cup of the stuffing as evenly as possible over 1/2 of the split breast and fold the other side over it.
6. Pin the stuffed breast together with toothpicks and return it to the skillet (it's OK if some of the stuffing spills over, it will become nice and crunchy in the oven)
7. Place it in the preheated oven and bake at 375 degrees f for 20 minutes, or until it becomes nice and brown and the internal temperature reaches 165 degrees f.
8. When done, remove the pan from the oven and let the baked chicken breast rest for about five minutes before serving.

While the chicken breast is baking you can use the time to make the Marsala Mushroom Sauce (if using) , or heat it up over low heat if previously made. (See next step)

• NOTE: I took the opportunity here to spray a 9" x 13" baking dish with cooking oil and add the remaining stuffing (the bulk of the stuffing); then I baked it at the same time I baked the chicken breast.

Step 4: INGREDIENTS & PREPARATION OF MARSALA MUSHROOM SAUCE (estimate 6 Servings)

INGREDIENTS:

1. 3 TBS unsalted butter (reserve 1 TBS)
2. 1 TBS EVOO
3. 1 Large Shallot, thinly sliced
4. 8 ounces Baby Portobello Mushrooms, sliced
5. 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
6. 1/2 cup sweet Marsala Wine
7. 1 1/2 cups unsalted chicken stock or broth
8. 1 TBS cornflour (mixed together with remaining TBS of butter)

PREPARATION:

1. Melt 2 TBS of unsalted butter with 1 TBS EVOO in a heavy sauce pan over medium heat.
2. When mixture is hot, add sliced shallot, mushrooms, and cayenne pepper.
3. Saute, stirring occasionally, until mushrooms are tender (about 8 minutes).
4. Add wine and cook until wine is almost completely reduced.
5. *Add chicken stock or broth and cook until reduced by about 1/3.
6. Slowly blend in the butter/cornflour mixture, stirring with a wooden spoon, until the sauce thickens a little (about 5 minutes..

*If the mixture starts to boil at any time, reduce heat to medium-low, or low, and continue.

Keep warm on the back of the stove until chicken breast has been removed from oven.

Step 5: TIME TO EAT . . .

Remove stuffed chicken breast from oven and place it on a serving platter.

Ladle some Marsala Mushroom sauce over it, slice and serve warm. (Since the casserole of baked stuffing came out of the oven at the same time, you can also serve some extra stuffing on the side if wish).

Bon appétit

(The nutrition for this recipe - a combination of recipes - is listed on the next and final step)

Step 6: NUTRITION

I have prepared the nutritional evaluation of these recipes to the best of my ability using the MyFitnessPal Recipe Analyzer.

I you were eating just one serving of the unstuffed blackened chicken breast you would consume about 433 calories.

If you add about 1 serving of stuffing to the meal, you will add about 200 more calories,.

and if you top your meal off with a serving of the Mushroom sauce, you will add approximately 140 more calories.

Based on this information, I am going to suggest that one complete serving of my Blackened Chicken Breast stuffed with a Cornbread-sausage stuffing and topped with the Mushroom Marsala Sauce will equal about 773 calories!