CopyCat The Cheesecake Factory Pasta Da Vinci

Ingredients

Penne Pasta – Enough for 2 servings according to the package
1/4 Red Onion or 3 Shallots – Chopped
1/3 cup Button Mushrooms – quartered
1/4 cup Shiitake Mushrooms – quartered
1 tsp Garlic – chopped, not minced or crushed
1/2 lb Chicken Breast – Cut into bite-size pieces
3 Tbsp Butter
1 Tbsp Flour
1 tsp Salt
1 cup Madeira wine (red)
1/2 cup Water
2 Tbsp Heavy Cream
1 Tbsp Parsley

Directions

Bring about 3 cups of water to a boil for cooking the pasta (continue with the recipe while the water comes to a boil). Add the pasta and cook for approximately 10 minutes or until “al dente” (still just ever so slightly firm).

Heat a medium size pan over a medium heat. Once at temperature, add 1 Tbsp of butter and saute the onions or shallots, mushrooms and garlic until tender.

Remove the onions, mushrooms and garlic and set them aside until later.

In the same pan, increase to a medium-high heat and add the chicken, stirring frequently until the chicken is cooked through (no pink). Do not overcook the chicken as you will be adding it back in at the end and you don’t want it to get tough.

Remove the chicken and it aside until later.

In the same pan, reduce to a medium-low heat and add 2 Tbsp butter. Once melted, sprinkle the flour over the butter and stir to make a roux. Make sure you use a rubber spatula to scrape the bottom of the pan a bit as well.

Add the wine and increase the heat to medium to high high and cook for 10 minutes to reduce it a bit and cook off the alcohol. Your pasta should be done by now… don’t forget it.

Slowly stir in the heavy cream and bring to a low boil, still over a medium to high heat. Make sure you stir it frequently to keep it from sticking to the bottom of the pan.

Add the parsley, chicken, mushrooms, garlic and onions back in and simmer for 3-4 minutes.

With a large spoon, pour over the pasta and serve with Parmesan cheese.