New Cookbook / New Pasta Dish

As I mentioned before our cookbook collection is ever growing and the most recent addition is Giada’s new cookbook “Everyday Pasta”. While I have browsed through it several times I still have not made anything out of it… until tonight. While the title indicates that it is only pasta it actually has a fare number of non-pasta dishes too, however, I opted to try a pasta dish. I wanted a lighter pasta dish that wasn’t too creamy, so I selected her Roman-Style Fettuccine with Chicken.

This is a fairly simple dish that includes chicken, red and yellow peppers, diced tomatoes, capers among a few other things. I did make a few changes to the recipe. I did not use the prosciutto and we had leftover chicken from Sunday night that we shredded and used. This came together very quickly and is a colorful and tasty dish. The sauce is light and the flavor of the peppers is really able to come through. The capers add nice extra layer of flavor to the dish. For such a simple dish it packs a nice, fresh flavor. We did add a little salt and pepper to it, however, had we used the prosciutto this most likely would not have been needed.

We really enjoyed the pasta and look forward to trying more recipes out of the cookbook. We have all of Giada's cookbooks now and have really enjoyed almost ever recipe of hers that we have tried. Russ rates tonight pasta a 8. He felt like had we included the prosciutto it would have bumped it up to a higher rating. Next time I may try it with the prosciutto and just cut it in bigger chunks for those of us who would rather not eat it.

On a different note one of the blog contributers had pretty big day yesterday and requested that his accomplishments be included on the blog. Cash managed to get not one, but two birds yesterday in the back yard. Cash is extremely fast and has had many close calls with squirrels and birds in the past, but this was his first day to catch them. He was very proud of himself and I think Russ was too. I, however, was slightly freaked out by it. Despite my dislike for birds I really don’t like seeing dead things… The other birds are apparently not too happy with Cash and now when he goes out back they start squawking and flying around trying to dive-bomb him. While it keeps me from wanting to be in the backyard while hysterical, mad birds fly too low and too close for comfort it doesn’t seem to bother Cash. So for those keeping score of the bird crisis of ’07 it is now Cash 2 and the birds 0. (Disclaimer: If this ruined your appetite in any way then we apologize and you may take it up with Cash and Russ who insisted that the bird crisis of ’07 is blog worthy.) Cash is a tuckered out little pup in the picture from all the bird hunting!

Roman-Style Fettuccine with Chicken
(Giada De Laurentiis, "Everyday Pasta") 4 - 6 servings

1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts halves
2 boneless, skinless chicken thighs
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 red bell pepper, cored, seeded, and sliced
1 yellow bell pepper, cored, seeded, and sliced
3 ounces prosciutto, chopped
2 garlic cloves, chopped
1 (14.5 oz) can diced tomatoes, with juice
1/2 cup dry white wine
1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme
1 teaspoon chopped fresh oregano
1/2 cup low-sodium chicken broth
1 and 1/2 pounds fresh fettuccine
2 tablespoons drained capers
1/4 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

Heat the oil in a large, heavy skillet over medium-high heat. Sprinkle the chicken with salt and pepper. Cook the chicken until brown on both sides, about 4 minutes per side. Remove from the pan and set aside.

Keeping the same pan over medium heat, add the bell peppers and prosciutto and cook until the peppers have browned and the prosciutto is crisp, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute. Add the tomatoes and their juice, wine, thyme, and oregano. Using a wooden spoon, scrape the brown bits off the bottom of the pan. Return the chicken to the pan, add the broth, and bring the mixture to a boil. Reduce the heat, cover, and simmer until the chicken is cooked through, 20 to 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the fresh pasta, stir, and cook until tender, about 1 minute. Drain.

Remove the chicken and let it cool slightly on a cutting board. Using a fork and knife, gently shred the chicken. Return the chicken to the pan. Stir in the capers and parsley.

To serve, spoon the pasta into serving dishes and top with the chicken and sauce.