This Christmas I received the Smitten Kitchen Everyday cookbook (Thanks V and C!).  Smitten Kitchen is one of my favorite blogs, and is often a first stop when looking for a particular type of recipe.  In my typical fashion these days, I read the cookbook cover to cover picking out which recipes I simply had to make first.  The winner was this Marsala Chicken Meatballs with Egg Noodles because I’d just been cleaning out my pantry and thinking that I needed to use up the egg noodles I had on hand.  While I wouldn’t necessarily describe this as a weeknight dish, it is absolutely delicious and makes great leftovers.

Since I like to tamper with things, next time I make this I’d love to add mushrooms.  I think they’d be fantastic mixed in with the sauce, and a great way to add a little extra vegetables.  Ground chicken isn’t very common, but it works really well.  The sauce feels quite rich, so it’s balanced well with the lighter ground chicken.  Serve this with a green salad, or your choice of vegetable, and you have a filling, delicious meal.

The meatball mixture is extremely soft.  So I ended up using a cookie scoop to make the meatballs because they’d be more uniform and trying to pre-form them into meatballs before cooking them was just a pile of mush.  If you don’t have a cookie scoop (you should totally get one!  so useful!), you could use a large spoon to scoop about 2 Tbsp at a time.  My meatballs ended up looking more like triangles, but once you add some sauce you can’t tell the shape and they taste delicious regardless, so don’t get too hung up on the soft mixture.

What’s your favorite cookbook?  Do you read cookbooks cover to cover? 

Marsala Chicken Meatballs with Egg Noodles

Serves 4-6

Adapted from Smitten Kitchen Everyday

• 1 yellow onion, finely chopped
• 2 Tbsp olive oil
• 2 Tbsp unsalted butter
• 1 lb ground chicken
• 1 tsp kosher salt, plus more for the onions
• 1/2 cup panko breadcrumbs
• 1 egg
• 1/4 cup milk (or water)
• freshly ground pepper
• 1/4 cup dry Marsala cooking wine
• 3 Tbsp unsalted butter
• 3 Tbsp all-purpose flour
• 1 3/4 cup vegetable or chicken stock
• 1/4 cup half and half (or heavy cream)
• salt and pepper, to taste
• 1 lb wide egg noddles
• 1 Tbsp butter
• 2 scallions, chopped

Heat a large skillet over medium, add half the oil and butter.  Add the onions and a pinch of salt and sauté until golden brown.  Remove from heat and allow the onion to cool.  In a large bowl, mix together the chicken, salt, panko breadcrumbs, egg, milk, and pepper (a fork works well for this).  Add in the cooled onions and mix until just combined.

Return the skillet to the stove at medium heat.  Add the remaining olive oil and butter.  Using a small cookie scoop, scoop the chicken mixture into the pan, working in batches if necessary.  Cook for a few minutes on each side, until nicely browned.  Once browned on most sides, move to a paper-towel lined plate (they’ll finish cooking in the sauce).  Repeat with remaining chicken mixture.

Once all the meatballs have been made and removed from the skillet, add the Marsala straight to the pan (stand back, there will be lots of steam), and use a spatula to loosen up the fond (the browned bits that are stuck on the bottom).  Simmer until most of the Marsala has cooked off, then add the 3 Tbsp of butter.  Whisk in the flour to the melted butter, cooking for at least one minute (this removes the flour-y taste).  Slowly whisk in the stock, and bring to a simmer.  Add the half and half, and season with salt and pepper to taste.  Add the meatballs to the sauce, turning to coat.  Reduce heat to medium-low, cover and let cook for about 10 minutes.  Check the meatballs to make sure they’re cooked through.  If you have a thermometer, they should read 165°F at the center.

Meanwhile, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil.  Add the egg noodles and cook until al dente, usually 6-8 minutes.  Drain and mix in a Tbsp of butter, if desired.

To serve, top noodles with meatballs and sauce and garnish with scallions.