Chicken Scampi

Guess who’s visiting this weekend?

Yay, it’s Cory! Isn't he cute? We look nothing alike.

My busy little brother is the remarkably talented founder of Sub-Zero Productions, and he was in town to shoot a wedding last night. He decided to stay and hopefully get stranded with us for the duration of the forecasted blizzard that is headed this way. We have plenty of food, video games, and jammies, so we’re all set for a productive weekend.

Cory does like to learn to cook when he has the patience (see Cory the Amazing, Disappearing Sous-Chef). And he’s always looking for new dishes that will impress the ladeez – one in particular, who is quite the foodie herself. (That’s right, he is indeed spoken for.)

Chicken scampi is my revised version of shrimp scampi, and I think it’s right up Cory’s alley. Because not eating shrimp is a genetic trait that we share, along with naturally curly hair and surprisingly long arms.

The recipe is very close to the shrimp scampi, except that you need to cook the chicken before making the sauce, and I usually add a bit of lemon juice and reduce the amount of butter. The hubby’s metabolism is far more efficient than my own.

Chicken Scampi
Serves 2-3

8 oz. angel hair pasta (cappellini)
1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken breast, cut in bite-size pieces
Salt and pepper
2 Tbsp. olive oil, divided
1 Tbsp. minced onion (optional)
4 cloves garlic, minced
½ c. white wine
2 Tbsp. lemon juice
4 Tbsp. butter
3 Tbsp. fresh minced parsley or 1 Tbsp. dried parsley
¼ tsp. crushed red pepper flakes

1. Cook and drain pasta as directed on package.

2. Meanwhile, heat 1 Tbsp. oil in a frying pan over medium-high heat. Sprinkle chicken with salt and pepper and add to pan.

3. Cook, stirring occasionally, until chicken is lightly golden and cooked through. Remove chicken from pan.

4. Reduce heat to medium and add remaining 1 Tbsp. oil to the pan. Add onion and saute 1-2 minutes; add garlic and saute 1 minute.

5. Return chicken to pan.

6. Add wine and deglaze pan. Add remaining ingredients.

7. Cook until butter is melted and sauce is slightly reduced.

8. Serve over pasta.

And what did Cory think of the chicken scampi? "Amazing. AND filling." Of course, we did chow down on some fried cheese beforehand.