Cook-Blog-Share: Week 3 of 4

*Here are the links to the other blogs with recipes this week. The blog/post title isn't always the name of the recipe so be sure to read the whole post and there should be a recipe somewhere in there. Also be sure to click on 'older posts' at the end of this post for more recipes or check out the February archive. Updated Mar 3 2010.

Tortellini Soup From Elise
Bran Muffins from Marie
Baked Fish With Tomatoes from Melanie

Thanks to everyone who has contributed recipes so far. I am trying them out one by one and have found some real winners! This week there are a few less contributors, so if you are reading this and want to send on a recipe, please do! Email me or leave it in a comment. elainesmithson@live.com

This is actually a new recipe for me that I tried for the first time this week. If you love mushrooms, and I luv mushrooms, then you will like this dish. If you don't like them, then not so much. It is basically chicken and linguine with a mushroom sauce. I thought it was yummy. I got it from Pioneer Woman's website. You should check it out sometime. I did make a few modifications to her recipe, though. So here it is.


Chicken Scallopine

1/2 pound Linguine
4 whole Boneless, Skinless, Chicken Breasts
Salt And Pepper
Flour
2 Tablespoons Olive Oil
4 Tablespoons Butter
12 ounces Mushrooms, Sliced Thin
1 cup Chicken Broth
2 Tablespoons Lemon Juice
½ cups Heavy Cream (can Use Half-and-Half)
1 teaspoon (heaping) Capers
Chopped Fresh Italian Parsley

Preparation:

Cook pasta according to package directions.

Flatten chicken breasts to uniform thickness. Salt and pepper both sides (first), then dip/cover in flour (second). Heat butter and olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Fry chicken breasts until golden brown. If breast are thin, this is about 2-3 minutes on each side. Be careful not to burn butter (juices in pan will start turning black). Remove to a plate and set aside.

Throw mushrooms into the pan and stir. Immediately pour in chicken broth and lemon juice. Stir to deglaze the pan, and then cook vigorously for 1 minute, until sauce reduces.

*At this point I thought the sauce was a little thin, so: Take about 1/2 teaspoon butter in a bowl and mash as much flour into it as you can with a fork to make a thick butter/flour clay. Maybe about 2 tablespoons of flour. Then, stir this in with the mushrooms till the butter and flour dissolve. Turn up heat to medium high and cook until sauce thickens. Again, be careful not to burn. This is a cool trick I learned to add flour to thicken without the flour getting clumpy

Pour in cream and stir, then add capers and parsley and stir. Turn off heat. Stir and add salt and pepper to taste.

Serve mushroom sauce over chicken and pasta.

**Little side note. After making this, I thought, "Next time I will cook the sauce first and the chicken second so the chicken stays warmer and juicier, and the sauce can sit and absorb flavor while I cook the chicken. Then I realized, the chicken juices and butter and oil make the mushroom sauce tastier, so never mind. That is all.