You'll Love the Leftovers

This is not another blog entry about leftovers. I’m actually one of those people who, with few exceptions, have no great fondness for leftover food. I don’t like the taste. I eat leftovers when I’m feeling frugal or lazy, but I generally don’t enjoy the experience. I don’t think my daughter does, either.

But I digress.

Bear with me.

Yesterday was a great day. I clarified my work goals, rewrote some web content, and took out chicken to thaw. When my daughter blew into the house after school asking the inevitable, “What’s for dinner,” she was happy to see something fresh in the works. I call it “Fettuccine Alfredo with Pan-Seared Chicken and Garlic.” Or, when I’m not feeling talkative, “Garlic Chicken Alfredo.”

My husband still calls this dish Mediterranean Garlic Chicken, though it has come a long way from its original roots. I found the first version in a recipe booklet I picked up from the grocery store check-out line. It was called Browned Butter Chicken. The basic idea was to cook whole garlic cloves (about 20) and chicken cutlets in browned butter (half a cup!) and toss it all together with angel hair or spaghetti.

Yum.

The recipe evolved a few years later when we started cutting back our fat consumption. I replaced butter with olive oil, and significantly decreased the quantity. I added more seasoning, including black pepper, red pepper flakes, and thyme. For some reason it had a Mediterranean feel, hence its new name.

Then when I finally learned how to make a good alfredo sauce, thanks to Everyday Italian, inspiration struck. Wouldn’t it be delicious to add chicken and garlic to fettuccine alfredo? Of course it would be. I fussed with the technique a bit, and now it’s a favorite weeknight meal.

Fettuccine Alfredo with Pan-Seared Chicken and Garlic

2 tablespoons olive oil

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, flattened to ½-inch thick and patted dry
salt and pepper
10-20 cloves of garlic, smashed gently, paper removed
4 tablespoons butter
¾- to 1 cup heavy cream or half-and-half
juice of ½ lemon
1 teaspoon dried thyme
a few grinds black pepper
a pinch of red pepper flakes, or more if you like a bit of bite
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
8 ounces fettuccine, cooked al dente and drained
a few tablespoons of chopped fresh parsley

Turn your oven on to about 325˚. In a cast-iron pan or good stainless steel skillet, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat until it shimmers. You want a delicious sear on the chicken, so make sure the pan is good and hot. Season the chicken with a little salt and pepper and brown in the oil, 2 to 3 minutes per side. Remove the chicken to a heat-proof shallow serving bowl and put it in the oven to finish cooking.

Turn the heat on the pan down to medium. You may need to remove the pan from the burner for a few minutes so that it will cool faster. When the pan is not blistering hot, put it back on the flame and throw in the garlic cloves. I know it sounds like a lot of garlic. It is, because that’s the way we like it here. Adjust the number of cloves to your taste. Keep them moving around in the oil; you want them browned and soft and sweet, but not burned. When they’re finished, lift them out and add them to the bowl of chicken in the oven.

Now wipe out the pan. Yes, I know you are wiping out the base for a delicious pan sauce, but for this recipe we’re aiming for creamy white alfredo. You can do the quick pan sauce another night.

For the alfredo, melt the butter over medium-low heat. Do not brown it. Pour in most of the cream, saving some to thin the sauce later if you need to, the lemon juice, and the seasonings, and cook just until it starts to bubble. Sprinkle in the cheese, stirring the while until it melts.

You don’t want it too thick, or too thin, for that matter, so add more cream if needed, or, equally as good, a few tablespoons of the water you cooked the pasta in. (You have been cooking the pasta meanwhile, haven’t you?) Taste it and adjust the salt, if necessary. If the sauce is too thin, you can add more cheese. And, to be honest, if it isn’t quite the right consistency it will still taste good, and you’ll know for next time how to adjust.

When the sauce looks good, cut the chicken into half-inch-thick slices, and add them and the garlic, with any juices collected in the bowl, and the pasta to the sauce. Toss and pour back into the bowl. Sprinkle with a little fresh chopped parsley.


The best thing about this dish is that it makes leftovers you actually want to eat. I like to eat them standing in front of the open refrigerator, my fingers poised greedily over the open container.