One of the best smells to come out of the kitchen is anything involving Marsala wine, butter and mushrooms.  Marsala wine hails from the city of Marsala in Sicily (although there are wonderful California bottles as well) and is perfectly sweet and rich at the same time.  Used in the traditional chicken Marsala dish and also seen a lot in Italian desserts like a traditional zabaglione, it’s amazing the depth of flavor that is created to any dish where it is present.

Veal and chicken Marsala are a frequently requested dish in my kitchen, so I was thrilled to find this pasta with Marsala mushroom recipe in one of the latest issues of Fine Cooking magazine. With all the flavors of a chicken or veal Marsala sauce but over  pasta instead, this hearty pasta dish is lovely over orechiette or even fusilli pasta.  I love the last minute addition here of Dijon mustard and mascarpone cheese for an extra touch of added richness.

(To view this recipe, click on the following link: http://www.finecooking.com/recipes/marsala-mushroom-pasta.aspx)

Tagged: Dijon mustard, Fine Cooking, fussili, Marsala mushrooms, marsala wine, mascarpone cheese, mushrooms, pasta, shallots, vegetarian, vegetarian pasta