Trip to Italy

For this month's travels, we went to Rome, Italy!! We dined on some very authentic pasta (me copying the recipe from the super Italian restaurant The Cheesecake Factory haha). Again, forgot to take pictures (which is too bad cuz I even plated them really well), but here's the recipe!

Louisiana Chicken Pasta

First, CHICKEN

Ingredients:

• 4 tablespoons vegetable oil

• 6 skinless boneless chicken breast halves

• 3/4 cup bread crumbs

• 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

• 1 cup milk

• 2 tablespoons flour

Directions:

1. Wash and drain chicken breasts. Pound until very thin, as thin or thinner then 1/4-inch thick (the thinner the chicken breasts the better).

1. Mix breadcrumbs, flour, and Parmesan cheese together. Place milk in dish for dipping.

1. Dip chicken in breadcrumb mixture and then in milk and then back in breadcrumbs.

1. Place in fry pan that the oil has been heated and fry at medium high temperature until golden, crisp, and cooked through. Add more oil as needed. Remove and drain chicken. Keep warm.

Second, SAUCE

Ingredients:

• 1 tablespoon butter

• 1 small yellow bell pepper, chopped

• 1 small red bell pepper, chopped

• 3/4 small red onion, chopped

• 3 whole garlic cloves, minced

• 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper

• 1 1/4 pints whipping cream

• 1 cup low-salt chicken broth

• 4 tablespoons fresh basil, thinly sliced

• 1 cup grated Parmesan cheese

• 1 package bow-tie pasta

• 1 cup mushrooms, sliced

• salt and pepper

Directions:

1. Melt butter in heavy large skillet over medium-high heat. Add yellow and red bell peppers, mushrooms, and onion to same skillet and saute until crisp-tender, about 4 minutes.

1. Add minced garlic and crushed red pepper to skillet and saute 2 or 3 minutes.

1. Add whipping cream and chicken stock. Simmer until sauce re-heats and thickens slightly, about 5 minutes.

1. Add basil and 1 cup grated Parmesan cheese to sauce, stirring to incorporate. Season sauce to taste with salt and pepper. Reduce heat to low, simmer. Sauce will reduce and thicken.

1. Meanwhile, cook bow-tie pasta in large pot of boiling salted water until tender but still firm to bite. Drain and return to pot. Add sauce and toss to coat.

1. Place pasta with sauce on plate, and top with chicken breast. Serve, passing additional Parmesan separately.

After our meal, we watched Roman Holiday! Neither of us had seen it before, but it's Audrey Hepburn, so we knew it'd be good :)