Wednesday, September 14, 2011

Pasta Davinci (cheescake factory replica)

In the wide world of restaurants and specifically chain restaurants i feel that there's always that one that you love going to, is full of an array of foods and almost all of the dishes on the menu are delicious so it doesn't really matter what you get; but you always seem to get the same dish over and over. Well for me that place is The Cheesecake Factory. It's been a while since I've eaten there but when i do i almost always get the Pasta Da Vinci. A pasta dish filled with tender chicken breast, mushrooms, onions, Al Dente pasta and a rich Madeira wine sauce, topped off with a smattering of Parmesan. It has definitely become a comfort food for me and i wanted to try making it at home. So i did! the result was a very tasty dish that came pretty close to the original but i feel like it could have been a bit more flavorful. I'll make a few changes to the recipe to remedy this. 

Pasta Da Vinci
Adapted from Meemo's Kitchen

Ingredients:
Penne Pasta
1/4 C. Red onion, chopped
1/2 C. Mushrooms (porcini or shitake. i used crimini quartered.)
1 Tsp Garlic, chopped
1/2 Lb Chicken breast, cut into bite sized pieces
3 Tbs butter
1 Tsp Salt
1 C. Madeira wine (i found it at Trader Joe's)
1/2 C. chicken broth
2 Tbs Heavy cream
1 Tbs Fresh parsley, chopped
Parmesan cheese

Directions:
boil water and prepare pasta according to package instructions for "Al Dente" pasta.
Saute onions and mushrooms and garlic in medium to large frying pan with 1 tbs butter over medium-high heat until tender. Remove the Mixture and set aside.
In the same pan, cook the chicken stirring frequently. Set aside for later use.
Melt the remaining 2 Tbs of butter over low-medium heat. Add in the wine, cream and chicken broth in a slow stream, whisking constantly; cook sauce until thickened, stirring occasionally. Add Parsley and stir for 2 minutes. Add Chicken, mushroom mixture simmer for 2 minutes more*. Serve with Parmesan cheese.

*For more flavor i suggest adding the pasta (boiled for 1-2 min. less than instructions require) with the chicken and mushrooms and boiling for 2 min.more.    


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