A fine creamy cheesy sauce dinner entree like this one deserves a fine bottle of Pinot Grigio wine, chilled, and a nice Caesar side salad (see the Food Nirvana recipe for Caesar salad) if you have time to make one. Glasses of ice water will be appreciated also.
Ingredients: (makes four generous adult servings)
For the Pasta:
1 pound box of dry fettuccine pasta
For the Chicken:
1 1/2 pounds of boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 teaspoon of dry Italian seasoning (or use 1/2 tsp. each of dried oregano and dried basil)
3/4 teaspoon of sea salt
1/4 teaspoon of black pepper
2 tablespoons of extra-virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons of butter
For the Broccoli:
1 large fresh broccoli crown (or two smaller crowns), cut into small florets, stem discarded
For the Alfredo Sauce:
1, 8 tbsp. stick of butter, cut into 12 slices
2 1/2 cups of heavy cream
2 large cloves of garlic, minced
3/4 teaspoon of garlic powder
1 teaspoon of dry Italian Seasoning (or a mixture of dried oregano and basil)
1/2 teaspoon of sea salt
1/4 teaspoon of black pepper
2 cups of freshly grated Parmegiano Reggiano or Extra Sharp Aged Provolone (my favorite for this sauce) or Pecorino Romano cheese
1/2 cup of chopped fresh parsley (used at serving time mixed into the sauce as a garnish)
Directions:
Set the oven at 180 degrees F and put in the wide bowls you will use later for individual servings and also one large (3 qt.) serving bowl and three medium (2 qt.) serving bowls.
Make the Chicken:
Season the chicken breasts with the Italian seasoning, salt, and pepper, rubbing the seasoning over the surface of each chicken breast.
Warm the olive oil over medium-high heat in a large nonstick skillet. Once it is shimmering, swirl the pan to evenly distribute the oil.
Set the heat to medium and add the chicken breasts and leave them undisturbed for 5 to 7 minutes, until the bottom is golden-brown.
Flip the chicken breasts over and add in the slices of butter between them, picking up the pan to give it a gentle swirl to distribute the melted butter. Briefly lift each piece of chicken for the melted butter to flow underneath.
Continue cooking the chicken breasts for another 5-7 minutes (or until the internal chicken temperature reaches 165 degrees F. Use an instant read thermometer.) Note that I microwaved the cooked chicken breasts for three minutes on full power without checking the internal temperature, as I could see the interior of the breasts was still partially raw after the skillet cooking. That worked perfectly.
Transfer the chicken breasts to a wood cutting board and let them rest for 3 minutes. Cut them with a large, sharp knife, crosswise, on a diagonal into 1/4" thick slices.
Put the slices into one of the medium size serving bowls , cover it with plastic wrap and put it into the warming oven while you prepare the broccoli and the Alfredo sauce.
Make the Broccoli
Cut the broccoli crown with a paring knife to create many small florets, each about an inch long and 3/4" wide. Discard the large pieces of broccoli crown stem left over after making the florets.
Put the florets and one cup of water into a steaming pot and bring the water to a boil on medium heat.
Let the florets steam, covered, for seven minutes and then put them into one of the medium size serving bowls. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and put it into the warming oven.
Make the Alfredo sauce:
In the same Skillet used for the chicken, add the butter and the cream, and cook over medium-low heat, whisking lightly until the butter has melted.
Add the minced garlic, garlic powder, Italian seasoning, salt, and pepper and whisk until all the ingredients are combined and smooth.
Bring the mixture to a gentle simmer on medium heat (to about 180 to 190 degrees F ... Do not let the sauce boil) and cook the sauce for 3 to 4 minutes on very low heat, whisking constantly.
Stir in the grated cheese, just until it is melted and the sauce is smooth. Turn off the heat.
Stir in the chopped fresh parsley.
Pour the sauce into one of the medium size serving bowls, cover it with plastic wrap and put it into the warming oven.
Make the Pasta:
Bring a one gallon pot of lightly salted water to a boil.
Add the fettuccine and cook it at a medium boil, with initial stirring to assure the pieces separate from each other, until it is al dente according to package directions, usually 12 to 13 minutes.
Drain the fettucine in a colander.
Give it a hot water rinse while it is in the colander, then set it aside, wet, in the 180 degrees F warming oven, in the large serving bowl, covered with plastic wrap.
Assemble the Broccoli Chicken Alfredo at serving time:
Divide the pasta among the four individual serving bowls and let each guest add pieces of broccoli and chicken and then ladle Alfredo sauce over the combination. They then toss/mix the components together using a two dinner forks or a fork and a soup spoon.
Let each guest season their own serving of Broccoli Chicken Alfredo with additional salt or pepper, to taste.
A nice chilled bottle of Pinot Grigio wine goes very well with this meal, plus some glasses of ice water, and a side Caesar salad makes the meal perfect!
Enjoy!