Chicken Scarpariello with Seafood Pasta and Pesto Bread

I return this week with an entree worthy of some time spent in the kitchen. As always, my policy remains true to keeping things simple, nothing terribly time-consuming or convoluted .... just some good ingredients and a few steps to getting things plated. The list below looks like a lot, but it's all staple ingredients, easily handled, and the small amount of added prep really just allows more time for an extra glass of wine while cooking.

This is a meal that is prepared in stages, and especially when you are cooking alone. You want everything to come together at more or less the right time, so that you are ready to plate the food and serve it while it is nice and hot.


INGREDIENTS

For Chicken:
- 1 Chicken breast (get an organic or home-grown one, yes??!!)
- 1/4 cup red wine vinegar
- 1/4 cup dry white wine
- 2 Tbsp olive oil
- 2 cloves garlic
- 1/4 onion, chopped (white or yellow)
- 1 Tbsp fresh chopped flat leaf parsley
- 1 Tbsp fresh rosemary (leaves only)
- 1/4 Tbsp butter

For Pasta:
- Vermicelli (eyeball how much you need .... with pasta, often less is more ... it's easy to overshoot)
- Shrimp (for a single eater, 4-6 pieces), pealed and de-veined
- 3 black olives, halved and pitted
- 1/4 cup Bell pepper (green, yellow, and/or red)
- 1-2 cloves garlic (to taste)
- 2 Tbsp olive oil
- Grated Parmesan to top (don't use the canned variety!!)

For Pesto:
- 2 cups fresh chopped parsley
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 1/4 cup pine nuts
- 1 garlic clove
- 1/8 cup fresh grated parmesan cheese
- 1 Tsp kosher salt
- 2 slices of ciabatta, foccacia, tuscan or other similar bread

... and, one large bottle of white or red wine ....

pour a glass, put on some music, and let's get to work ....


1. FIRST: make pesto ....

... chop parsley and mince garlic. Place in food processor, along with pine nuts, salt and oil. Mix until a spreadable consistency (not exactly pureed, but smooth and uniform) .... if you've ever had or made pesto, you know what this looks like. Place in a bowl, cover and chill.

2. SECOND, begin chicken ...















... chop chicken into pieces ... add oil to skillet and raise to medium heat ... when you reach temperature add chicken and sear until roughly 2/3 done ... remove and place on platter ...















... add chopped garlic and saute on medium heat until not quite browned, then remove and spoon over chicken on platter ....

... add vinegar and wine to skillet, continuing over medium heat. Bring to a boil, scraping bottom of skillet and reduce to simmer, adding chicken and garlic back to skillet. Cook the chicken the rest of the way. When it's finished, plate chicken.

... add parsley, rosemary and butter to skillet. Stir while butter melts, combining ingredients. After a minute or less, the sauce should come together; spoon over chicken.















3. FOR PASTA:

... put water on to boil. Then, chop vegetables and herbs, and thaw/peel/de-vein shrimp if necessary. Add olive oil and garlic to skillet and saute until garlic not quite browns. Add green pepper and olives, stirring the saute mixture regularly. After a few minutes, add shrimp. Saute all ingredients for 5-7 minutes (or until done) over medium heat.















... at this point, remove pesto from fridge and slice bread. Toast if desired.

... when pasta is finished boiling, drain and add noodles to skillet. mix and toss pasta together, then plate. grate fresh parmesan over top of the plate. Spread pesto on bread, plate all, and serve!!

Tonight's music: Donald Fagen's The Nightfly and Miles Davis' Kind of Blue

Tech Tip: none this week! ... actually, for anyone who reads this blog, I would like to extend an invitation to submit technology issues, problems, etc., that involve everyday computing, as well as new media- and Web 2.0-related topics. To get an idea of what I have addressed in past posts, browse through the archives.