They are totally different types of preparation. Chicken Marbella, as you know, is made from a long list of varied ingredients, it involves marinating, and uses a whole chicken. Chicken Marsala is generally just the breast, butterflied, and then quickly sauteed with the Marsala wine. It's a lovely, simple, flavorful dish- but there is really no comparison to be made between the two. Marsala wine is made from white grapes, it can be sweet OR dry, and is used in a wide variety of ways in cooking in Italy, especially in Central ad Southern areas. Zabaglione, a sweet, cooked custard sauce, is one of the more famous examples. It's also wonderful in soup, especially chicken soup or mushroom soup, whether its creamy or clear. If you're going to buy Marsala to cook with, DO NOT buy the cheap American "Marsala" made by Masson or Taylor- those are foul and will add nothing but cheap saltiness to your food. Cantino Florio is a good producer of REAL Marsala (which comes from Sicily, and ONLY from Sicily). You can buy it in dry OR sweet versions, and a 750 ml bottle will generally not cost more than $15, and after you open it, it will last in the fridge for quite a long time. RE: Marbella- I agree with you-It's one of my all time favorite dinner party dishes. You can make it long in advance, and it gets better after it sits longer. However, I've gotten tired of the original recipe in the Silver Palate cookbook- it has too much sugar! I've also decided that its MUCH better when made with thighs ONLY! Breast meat doesn't need to be marinated like that, and if it sits too long in the marinade, it just gets mushy. I experimented and made a version of Marbella using tomato paste and Madeira, instead of sugar. Also, depending on your taste, you might try using GOOD dried apricots instead of prunes sometime. It was SOOOO GOOD!!! That combo of capers, olives and dried fruit is also delicious with pork, whether you use a grilled chop, or a roasted tenderloin. I almost always serve Marbella with saffron rice. I tihnk it's time for a Marbella dinner party!!! Zachary

Chicken Marbella is a classic chicken recipe from the girls at The Silver Palate. It was my first "gourmet" cookbook and I've made it a lot over the years. The ingredients are very different and would not seem to go together but they do! The other day I found this crockpot recipe for the dish and I made it today because I was very very busy and something simmering in the crockpot while I painted the porch railings, sewed a Halloween costume, and changed out my flowers from summer to fall was perfect. I think it was as good as the original! CROCKPOT CHICKEN MARBELLA 8 pieces of chicken (you can use all breasts, a whole chicken, or all thighs or legs) 4 cloves garlic, chopped 1 T. Italian seasoning (a new staple in my larder) ¼ c. olive oil ¼ c. white balsamic vinegar 1 jar capers, drained ¼ c. maple syrup ⅔ c. jumbo raisins or prunes* 1 jar Spanish olives stuffed with pimento, drained 2 bay leaves Place chicken in slow cooker. Add remaining 8 ingredients with the chicken Cover and cook until the meat is tender and cooked through, 4 - 5 hours on high, or 7 - 8 hours on low. Gently transfer chicken to serving platter. Top with raisin or prune//olive mixture and any remaining juices from the slow cooker. Garnish with parsley. *the original receipt used prunes and I did too. But raisins will work if you don’t like prunes or don’t have any in your larder.

I never liked my crockpot, which was one of the newer too hot ones, but I was given a Breville Fast Slow, which is like an Instant Pot, and the slow cook on that is fabulous, plus, you can adjust everything to suit yourself. I've never had an issue slow cooking in an oven if it went down low enough. It's the nanny state new crockpots that are the problem.

It took me forever to finally decide on Silestone Eternal Statuario for my countertops. It's very slighly grey next to my Kraftmaid Dove White cabinets and looks good next to the white subway tile with white grout. I'm very happy. The floors are whitish-grey with a light blue/grey runner. I went all white to escape cave syndrome in my small galley kitchen. I'm adding interest with light wood accents and plants. I liked Lumina, Minuet, Muse, Etude, and Adagio Gold but I was afraid to take the plunge without viewing a full slab. I also very much liked Empira White but the cost factor was about 2.5x higher than my final choice.