Veal (Chicken) alla Marsala (1978)

Do you ever have a OMG I need to eat that craving but then realize that you don’t have the money to go out to dinner so you gotta do it yourself?

Well, that was me with this Marsala dish. Big craving and I already had chicken and mushrooms on hand.

So I had the craving, and I had the ingredients, but I couldn’t find a recipe in my collection–you’d think that Liberace would have one, but no. Honestly, I don’t know how many of my books I rifled through until I came across a Marsala recipe in Veal Cookery by Pierre Franey and Craig Claiborne (1978).

The book notes that this recipe is from the NYC restaurant Aperitivo

I, of course, had to know what the deal was with this Aperitivo joint, so I did some internet sleuthing (I love internet sleuthing) I found a January, 1970 review of Aperitivo from the New York Times by Mr. Claiborne. You can read it at the bottom of this post.

(Spoiler: Apertivo no longer exists)

But back to the task at hand—THERE ARE NO MUSHROOMS IN THIS MARSALA?

No mushrooms. What the hell, Craig?

In summation:

• my dish wasn’t veal
• I added mushrooms
• I didn’t have Marsala on hand and subbed sherry

So, basically I made my own dish that was nothing like the original.

Chicken alla Sherry and Fungo!

It was good. It was just what  I wanted.

★★★ Aperitivo, 29 West 56th Street, 765‐5155. It was a week for that rarest of happenings, to find a restau rant in New York with considerably more than routine appeal. It’s called Aperitivo, and if it doesn’t have the best Italian kitchen in town, it is certainly a contender for the title.

Let me hedge hastily, how ever, and add that at each recent visit Aperitivo has not been crowded, and the service has been neat and leisurely.

The most impressive dish has been an excellent first course, fettucine Alfredo. It is called that, although the dish is an original here with its blend of white and green noodles, plus small tortellini tossed together with fresh cream and cheese.

But all the dishes have come off well: the small scampi in butter sauce; the tender stuffed clams; a deli cious dish of gnocchi with pesto sauce; a picatta of veal; beef pizzaiola; the kidneys sautéed with mushrooms, and the oddest thing to find in an Italian restaurant, Key lime pie. For my money there is no better lime pie down to, and including, the Florida Keys.

And now to the inevitable carping. The fettucine is splendid, but just the least bit overcooked; the lime pie is served coffee‐counter style directly from the aluminum baking dishes in which the crust was made.

The decor of Aperitivo is pleasant and predictable enough with its hanging wine bottles, obvious art and so on, and there is piped‐in music. It is a relatively small restaurant, only 25 tables. Reservations are recommended.

All dishes are à la carte, with main courses at noon from about $3 to $6.50; in the evening from about $3.50 to $6.75. Cocktails, wines. Luncheon is not served Saturday; closed Sunday. American Express and Diners’ Club.