Introducing: Tasty Tuesdays!

As you may well know, Garrett and I are big into cooking.  While we're not professional chefs, we do have a special affinity for a fine chef's knife, and I could watch Food Network all day.  Giada De Laurentiis is one of my idols, and I am constantly looking for new recipes in Food and Wine magazine, Epicurious, and Bon Appetit.  Garrett and I have had to adjust our cooking schedules since our move to Houston, given his busy work day, so I typically get the prep work started while I wait for him to get home.  And, of course, we have had to resort to more frozen and take-out options since Samara arrived into the world, but our favorite thing is still to cook together.

So, given our passion for cooking, we decided to add a little flavor to this family blog of ours.  From now on, we will be sharing a new or favorite recipe with our readers every Tuesday for "Tasty Tuesdays."  We hope you'll enjoy the addition, and maybe get into a little cookin' yourselves!

On Sunday evening, we made one of our favorite recipes that we have neglected for some time: "Chicken with Mustard Mascarpone Marsala Sauce."  We had both forgotten how absolutely delicious it is!  The sauce is creamy and winey, thanks to the mascarpone and marsala, and the Dijon mustard adds a lovely bite.  Garrett cooked the chicken perfectly and the mushrooms and linguine were perfect complementary textures.  I served the chicken with my stand-by "Caramelized Brussels Sprouts," except I subbed walnuts for the pine nuts, since we were out of pine nuts.  The walnuts were yummy with the sprouts, and the veggies completed the meal.

Here are our recipes.  We hope you enjoy them as much as we do!

Chicken with Mustard Mascarpone Marsala Sauce

1½ pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts, each breast cut crosswise into 3 pieces

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

2 tablespoons olive oil

5 tablespoons butter, divided

¾ cup chopped onion

1 pound cremini mushrooms, sliced

2 tablespoons minced garlic

1 cup dry Marsala wine

1 cup (8 ounces) mascarpone cheese

2 tablespoons Dijon mustard

2 tablespoons chopped fresh Italian parsley leaves, plus whole sprigs, for garnish

12 ounces dried fettuccine

Sprinkle the chicken with salt and pepper. Heat the oil in a heavy large skillet over high heat. Add the chicken and cook just until brown, about 4 minutes per side. Transfer the chicken to a plate and cool slightly.

While the chicken cools, melt 2 tablespoons of butter to the same skillet over medium-high heat, then add the onion and saute until tender, about 2 minutes. Add the mushrooms and garlic and saute until the mushrooms are tender and the juices evaporate, about 12 minutes. Add the wine and simmer until it is reduced by half, about 4 minutes. Stir in the mascarpone and mustard. Cut the chicken breasts crosswise into ⅓-inch-thick slices. Return the chicken and any accumulated juices to the skillet. Simmer, uncovered, over medium-low heat until the chicken is just cooked through and the sauce thickens slightly, about 2 minutes. Stir in the chopped parsley. Season the sauce, to taste, with salt and pepper.

Meanwhile, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the fettuccine and cook until al dente, stirring occasionally, about 8 minutes. Drain. Toss the fettuccine with 3 tablespoons of butter and season, to taste, with salt and pepper. Swirl the fettuccine onto serving plates. Spoon the chicken mixture over top. Garnish with parsley sprigs and serve.

Caramelized Brussels Sprouts

1 lb. fresh Brussels sprouts, peeled, trimmed, and halved

2 teaspoons salt

3 tablespoons olive oil

2 cloves garlic, minced

Salt and pepper, to taste

¼ cup pine nuts

Place Brussels sprouts in a large sauté pan and cover with water. Add salt and bring water to a low boil over medium-high heat and cover. Allow to simmer for about 8-10 minutes and then drain water from sprouts.

Add olive oil and garlic to pan and sauté sprouts for another 10-15 minutes, or until sprouts are very browned (more olive oil may be added if needed). Add salt and pepper, to taste. Add pine nuts in the last few minutes and sauté frequently – do not allow the pine nuts to burn. Dish is done when pine nuts are toasted and sprouts are fully browned.