Macaroni Grill cuisine…to make at home

There’s only one Romano’s Macaroni Grill in the Kansas City metro: at 9292 Metcalf in Overland Park. The popular Italian restaurant chain, owned by by conglomerate Brinker International (Chili’s, On the Border Mexican Grill), has a bigger presence in St. Louis, where there are five locations.

My friend Bob loves the restaurant’s Chicken Marsala, which is made with chicken sauteed in sweet marsala wine, roasted garlic and portobello mushrooms served over cappellini pasta. A single dinner costs about $12.79.

For a few dollars less, a home chef can make a version of the same dish using the new General Mills boxed mix, “Romano’s Macaroni Grill Chicken Marsala with Linguini.” I recently purchased a package for $4.55 at my local supermarket. It requires a pound of boneless chicken breast — about five bucks — three tablespoons of vegetable oil (I used olive oil instead), three-fourths of a cup of hot water and a tablespoon of butter.

The box says it takes 20 minutes to prepare the dish and that’s right on the money. It’s not quite the same as the dish actually served at the restaurant since there are no mushrooms in the package. There is a foil packet of marsala wine, however, and herb-flecked flour for dredging the chicken before it’s cooked in the oil. Once the bird is browned, you simply toss in the hot water and the contents of the seasoning packet, heat it up, stir in the butter and pour it over the cooked linguini. Very inexpensive and, surprisingly, very good. According to the box, this kit makes “five one-cup servings.” At my house, it was just enough for two healthy appetites. But at five bucks a serving, it’s a very good deal.

“It tastes better in the restaurant,” said Bob.

Doesn’t everything?