Homemade Fettucini with Pesto, Sun-dried Tomatoes, and Balsamic Chicken

I had a day off from work last week and felt compelled to use my time towards culinary purposes. I had hoped to mimic a wonderful recipe from my friend Bobicus, which is deliciously entitled "Angel Hair with Grilled Chicken and Macadamia-Arugula Pesto" and which fails to mention that it also contains mango. But this is me we're talking about. There was no arugula in the grocery store, and when it came down to a tiny bottle of Macadamia nuts versus a large bag of walnuts for half the price, you know which I went for. I did try getting a mango. But apparently I don't know how to tell if a mango is ripe. Because when I sliced it open it was a hard, unappetizing white and I mourned the loss of such a wonderful fruit. Le sigh.

So I dug up this recipe for homemade pasta and this recipe for homemade pesto sans lemon juice and went to work. I tossed some chicken in a pan with a bit of salt, pepper, and brown sugar, then let it simmer in white balsamic vinegar. On a whim, I added sundried tomatoes at the end. And it was kind of all of alot of delicious.



Homemade Fettucini with Pesto, Sundried Tomatoes, and Balsamic Chicken
Serves 2

1/2 batch of fresh fettucini
1/2 batch of fresh pesto (or your favorite jarred pesto), about 1/4 of a cup
1 TBS olive oil
1 large boneless, skinless chicken breast, cut into 1" chunks
salt and pepper to taste
1 tsp brown sugar
2 TBS white balsamic vinegar (red would work too)
1 1/2 TBS sun-dried tomatoes in oil, drained and minced.

1) Fill a large pot half way with water. Bring to a boil over high heat.
2) While water is coming to a boil, heat olive oil in a medium sized non-stick skillet over medium heat until shimmering but not smoking. Add chicken, salt and pepper, and sprinkle brown sugar over top. Sauté chicken until starting to brown, stirring often, about 4 minutes. Add vinegar and turn heat down to low. Cook an additional 3-4 minutes, until liquid in pan has thickened and reduced.
3) Once water is boiling, add fettucini. Cook for 2-4 minutes, until tender. Drain, reserving 1/4 cup cooking liquid. Transfer fettucini back to warm pot.
4) Put pesto in a small bowl. Add 2 TBS of reserved cooking liquid and stir until creamy. Add more liquid if necessary. Add pesto to the pasta and stir until thoroughly coated. (I didn't add quite all the pesto, I had a couple TBS left over).
5) Add chicken and sun-dried tomatoes to the pasta and toss. Serve with crusty italian bread!

Pesto Salmon

Mr. Heart and I are not big seafood eaters, but we have been braving the new world of fish with small baby steps. First tilapia, now salmon. This recipe is ridiculously easy. Below I've listed a whole wonderful pesto recipe, inspired by The New Best Recipe, but ultimately, I just used jarred pesto. Classico to be precise. Serve with lemon slices.

Pesto Salmon
inspired by Prevention's Ultimate Quick and Healthy Cookbook and The New Best Recipe
Serves 2

¼ cup walnuts, pine nuts, pistachios, or almonds
3 medium garlic cloves
2 cups packed fresh basil leaves
6 TBS extra-virgin olive oil
1 TBS lemon juice
¼ cup grated Parmesan
½ tsp salt
¼ tsp pepper
½ lbs skinned salmon fillet, cut into 2 pieces
Lemon wedges, for garnish

1) Toast the nuts in a small heavy skillet over med heat. stirring frequently until just golden and fragrant, about 4 minutes. Transfer to a plate.
2) Put nuts, garlic, basil, oil, lemon juice, Parmesan, salt and pepper into a food processor and process until puréed.
3) Preheat broiler. Spray a jelly roll pan with non-stick spray.
4) Place the pieces of salmon on a plate. Spoon 3 TBS of pesto over the salmon and coat both sides of each piece. Cover with plastic wrap and let stand at room temp for 15 minutes. Reserve remaining pesto at room temperature.
5) Place the salmon in the prepared pan, spreading any extra pesto from the plate onto the fish. Broil the salmon 4 to 5" from the heart for 6-8 minutes, or until just opaque (cooking time will depend on the thickness of the fish).
6) Transfer salmon pieces to dinner places and top each with some of the reserved pesto. Garnish with lemon wedges

"Succotash"
Serves 2

1 cob of corn, cooked and de-kerneled (or 1 1/2 cups frozen corn)
1/4 cup fresh or frozen peas
1 -2 TBS butter
1/2 tsp smoked paprika
ground red pepper (to taste)
1/4 tsp salt

Melt butter in a hot pan, over medium heat, until frothy. Add corn, peas, and seasonings to taste. Toss to coat. Cook until corn begins to brown and peas are thoroughly cooked (4-5 minutes).

Balsamic Chicken and Pesto Pasta Salad

So the pasta salad came out pretty well. I tried to fake it by not actually cooking the sauce and instead mixing the chilled ingredients, but the consistency came out floury from the mix, so definitely take the time to cook the pesto. The Balsamic Chicken was pretty good, but could have used a little more pizzaz. Perhaps it needed more of the herb rub, since the amount given only covered the top of each breast, rather than the entire thing. Served with fresh wheat bread.

Pasta Salad
Serves 2
On a scale of 1 - 10: 8/10 (if prepared correctly)

1/3 packet of creamy pesto sauce mix
1 1/2 TBS milk
1 TBS olive oil spread

1/2 tomato, chopped (or halved cherry tomatoes)
4-5 kalamata olives, sliced thinly
1/4 cup petit pois

2 cups dried gemelli pasta
parmesan cheese

1) Prepare pasta according to package directions. When tender, drain and rinse with cold water until pasta is cool.
2) In a small sauce pan, blend pesto mix, milk, and olive oil spread until creamy. Simmer until thickened, about 5 min.
3) Toss the remaining ingredients with the pasta and sauce. Add parmesan cheese to taste. Chill for optimal flavor.


Balsamic Chicken
(courtesy of greg's mother's custom cookbook)
Serves 2
Scale of 1-10: 7/10

2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 clove garlic
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp rosemary

1/8 cup balsamic vinegar
1 TBS olive oil
dry sherry or white wine

1) Combine garlic, salt, pepper, and rosemary. Rub chicken with herb mixture and drizzle with olive oil. Cover and refridgerate overnight.
2) Preheat oven to 475ºF. Place chicken in a roasting pan and bake for 10 minutes. Flip the chicken. Add a few splashes of the sherry or wine to help scrape the bottom of the pan. Bake for an additional 10 minutes and repeat.
3) Bake for additional minutes, then remove from oven. Drizzle with balsamic vinegar. Remove chicken to plate. Stir the remaining liquid and serve over the chicken.