New Year’s Day Celebration with Soft Surroundings

1. 1. Place the flour, 3/4 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper in a ziplock bag. Add the chicken to the bag; seal the bag tightly and shake to coat the chicken evenly. Set aside.
   2. Heat the oil and 2 tablespoons of the butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. (Use a stainless steel pan for the best browning. Nonstick will work too, but you won’t get that nice golden color on the chicken.) Place the flour-dusted chicken in the pan, shaking off any excess first, and cook, turning once, until the chicken is golden and just barely cooked through about 5 to 6 minutes total. Transfer the chicken to a casserole pan.
   3. Top each chicken breast with slices of prosciutto.
   4. Bake 20 minutes at 350 degrees.
   5. Top each chicken breast with slices of fontina cheese and bake another 10minutes.
   6. Meanwhile, melt the remaining tablespoon of butter in the pan. Add the mushrooms and cook, stirring frequently, until the mushrooms begin to brown, 3 to 4 minutes. Add the shallots, garlic, and 1/4 teaspoon of salt; cook for 1 to 2 minutes more. Add the broth, Marsala, heavy cream, thyme, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and 1/8 teaspoon of pepper; use a wooden spoon to scrape any brown bits from the pan into the liquid. Bring the liquid to a boil, then reduce the heat to medium and gently boil, uncovered, until the sauce is reduced by about half, slightly thickened, and darkened in color, 10 to 15 minutes (you’re going for a thin cream sauce; it won’t start to thicken until the very end of the cooking time). Add the chicken back to the pan, along with any juices that accumulated on the plate. Reduce the heat to low and simmer until the chicken is warmed through and the sauce thickens a bit more 2 to 3 minutes. Sprinkle with parsley, if using, and serve.
   7. Note: If your chicken breasts are large (like the ones in the photos that are about 3/4 lb. each), it’s best to first cut them horizontally to form four flat fillets, then pound them to an even 1/4-inch thickness. If you pound large chicken breasts without first halving them, they’ll be huge. Of course, you could also pound them thin first and then cut them in half vertically; the only drawback is that they’ll lose their natural shape (which, admittedly, is not a big deal!).
   8. I serve this with either roasted potatoes or egg noodles and sauteed spinach.

Molten Lava Cakes

This is Michael’s favorite dessert and you can make it ahead of time. I always serve it with vanilla ice cream.

Molten Lava Cakes

My final thoughts of 2020

The year 2020 was tough, it was a world that seemed, at times, to stand still. The year was a challenge for the entire world. It was stressful, chaotic, and filled with unexpected events, uncertainty, scary times, and lots of struggles. As I say goodbye to 2020, instead of remembering all the difficulties we all have experienced this year, let’s look at the silver linings:

✅ The year 2020 made us stronger and wiser.
✅ It has taught us to enjoy the moments more
✅ Showed us that the little things are really big things.
✅ It taught us, to appreciate all that we have!
✅ taught us to be thankful for all the blessings!

And, I’m sure there were moments, the year of Covid19 brightened your life somehow. Always remember, every day is a gift. Every day may not be good, but there is something good in every day.

Although it wasn’t an easy year, we all made it, despite all it threw at us. Thank you 2020 for the memories and lessons!

And, I’m sure there were moments, the year of COVID-19 brightened your life somehow. Always remember, every day is a gift. Every day may not be good, but there’s something good in every day.

Although it wasn’t an easy year, we all made it, despite all it threw at us. Thank you 2020 for the memories and lessons!

Cheers to a happy and healthy better 2021!