who knew an electric stove could catch fire?!

Caramelized Chicken and Pappardelle with Spinach, Herbs and Ricotta

things are gettin' fancy round here now that momma's here to help! we discussed many meal options and for tonight decided on the two dishes above. i had never had pappardelle (wide egg noodles) but they were really good, and while the pasta has ricotta and parmesean its very light.

the chicken recipe comes from Tasty Kitchen via How Sweet Eats--it tasted delicious but i think i may have slightly overcooked the mushrooms and my sauce didn't really thicken--i had to sprinkle in some Wondra flour.

the pappardelle was from the april issue of cooking light--as a note you probably want to make the pasta first, then make the chicken if you are making them together.

chicken

you will need:  (this says it serves two, but....it doesnt)

• 4 whole Thinly Sliced, Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts
• ⅓ cups All-purpose Flour
• 2 Tablespoons Olive Oil
• ¼ whole Onion, Chopped
• 2 cups Sliced Mushrooms
• 3 Tablespoons Butter
• ⅓ cups White Wine

first sprinkle the chicken cutlets with salt and pepper on both sides, then lightly coat with flour. (this should be a thin layer, not a breading)
heat the olive oil in your skillet and cook chicken for a few minutes on each side, until brown.

place cooked chicken on a plate, add 1 TB butter to pan and cook onions for a minute or so. add the rest of the butter and saute mushrooms for about 5 minutes, until soft. pour wine in the pan and scrape (deglaze) the brown bits off the bottom, and add the chicken back into the sauce.

serve hot!


pappardelle

you will need: (serves 4, 1 3/4 c serving size!) obviously this is if you eat it by itself...

    8 oz uncooked pappardelle
    1 TB kosher salt
    1/3 c ricotta cheese
    3 cups baby spinach
    1/4 c chopped fresh chives (we used green onions because thats what i had)
    1/4 c chopped fresh flat leaf parsley
    1/4 c chopped fresh dill (we omitted this--i dont like dill)
    3 TB fresh grated parmesan cheese
    2 TB olive oil
    1/2 t fresh ground pepper

cook pasta with 1 TB salt, dont add oil if the package says to--the sauce won't stick. and never rinse pasta either, just in general. don't do it!

drain and reserve 1 c of the cooking liquid, combine 1/2 c hot liquid with ricotta in a blender until mixed. toss hot pasta with the ricotta mixture and the remaining ingredients, adding extra cooking liquid if it's too dry.



by the way, while heating the pot of pasta water, the burner underneath exploded into flames, several times. it was horrifying and mysterious.


now it's dessert time! yumyumyum.