Andrew's 228 Copycat

Most of my friends know that Andrew's 228 is my favorite restaurant in Tallahassee. Ok, so it may be tied for #1 with Masa, but the point is that it is up there. I absolutely love 228! Go ahead, check out the menu. My love for 228 grew immensely the night I tried their Chicken Marsala. It was this wonderful, savory dish with stuffed Chicken Marsala (with a spinach concoction I have yet to reproduce) on a bed of creamy risotto with cremini mushrooms and asparagus. Oh, it makes my mouth water just thinking about it! Pair that with the delicious wedge salad (yes, I do realize that iceberg lettuce really has no real nutritional value, but this salad is to die for) and you have a delectable meal! And if you want to go all out and get an appetizer as well . . . Mmmmm, they have this gorgonzola cheesecake which is to die for. Gogonzola cheesecake you say? Yes, I admit I had my doubts at first. I imagined cheesecake . . . with gorgonzola cheese. And let me tell you, I was not imagining something appetizing. But one bite later and I was in love. It's an entirely exotic experience in your mouth. Nothing like you can imagine! You must go out on a limb and try it sometime (as long as you like gorgonzola cheese that is). Another wonderful appetizer is their shrimp and lobster escargot. It is sinful! All that yummy butter sauce with perfectly cooked shrimp and lobster to soak it up with . . . and if you so desire, you can soak up the remaining butter with select breads from the bread basket. By the time I am through with all of this yumminess, I have absolutely no room for dessert, which actually works out well because dessert is the only thing I have not found something I'm in love with at 288. Don't cry, it's ok. I'm more of a carb person than a sweet person, so I would rather fill my tummy with those items mentioned above rather than dessert. And of course, I always have one (ok, a few) of their delicious $6 martinis. I am totally craving 228 right now. I can't wait to go again! Jeremy owes me a trip he said because 228 was going to be part of our Valentine's Day Extravaganza! Until then . . .

But, I have gotten off track! So one night I decided I would see if I could recreate this wonderful entree I love so much. I already had a recipe for chicken marsala and for risotto. Why not combine them? And that is what I did! With a few tweaks of course!

I made the chicken marsala the same way as I did before. But with the risotto I used Marsala wine instead of white wine. And I didn't use shredded chicken or peas either. Ok, starting from the beginning, I heated my pan with some olive oil. Then I added some asparagus, cleaned and trimmed into about 1 inch pieces. I put the asparagus into the oil and heat until softer, but still with a nice crunch, just a few minutes. I then removed the asparagus from the pan and set aside. Then I used the same pan to make my risotto recipe. I followed the risotto recipe, with the exceptions I mentioned previously. After the risotto was done I folded the asparagus back into it and added some fresh spinach. Just a handful or two, depending on how much you want. The heat of the risotto will wilt the spinach in a few minutes. Then I just put the marala-asparagus-spinach-risotto onto a plate and topped with my chicken marsala. It was divine!! It was a perfect substitute for 228. It had all of the ingredients, if only arranged a tad differently (at 228 the spinach is stuffed in the chicken with some cheese I think). But it was PERFECT! A great dish to make when we can't afford or don't have the time to go out. The only thing that I'd love to do differently is use cremini mushrooms - like both the recipe calls for and 228 actually uses. But I can't find any at Publix and I never take the time to go to Fresh Market or New Leaf Market where they are probably sold. But one day I will! Anyway, I highly recommend this dish! Your tastebuds will love you!