Invasion of the Body Snatchers

I love to cook. I love good food. And I love to cook good food made from scratch. Fresh herbs, vegetables, very few if any canned ingredients. You know, like my blog address. "Way more home made."

So I take this magazine called Cook's Illustrated. It's wonderful. They do not accept advertising so that they can give honest opinions about foods and products... which brands to buy and where to buy them. And some our family's most dearly loved recipes have come from Cook's.

I decided tonight to make one of my favorite main course meals from Cook's Jan/Feb 2005 issue. Pasta with Chicken and Broccoli. It is such a pleasing dish both to the palette and the eye with the red sun-dried tomatoes and green broccoli.

Yes, I said broccoli.

So, as we sat at the dinner table tonight, M and I looked at our children and said, "Who are you and what have you done with our children?"

The first thing that Nathan & Sarah dug into was... you guessed it... the broccoli. Sarah kept giggling and saying, "Ooh, broccoli is my favorite!" And Nathan kept asking for more. He reluctantly ate a piece or two of chicken and did take a piece of bread that M offered him, but continued to ask for more broccoli.

How many kids on the face of the earth do you have to say, "Yes, I'll give you some more broccoli after you eat a piece of pasta."

Broccoli as a bribe. Who wouldda thought?

In a related matter, it's time to clean out the refrigerator. I opened it today and I'm pretty sure something growled at me. And it wasn't my stomach.

I think the rest of the aliens that have taken over our childrens' bodies are living in there. I can't quite be sure.

I'm going in. And you can't stop me.

I'll be armed and wearing a HAZMAT suit.

I'll have to take some pictures.

We've had this refrigerator since about August and I'm pretty sure there is some stuff in there that is original.

(oh, and just to be absolutely clear... I never clean out the fridge. That's M's job!!)

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Pasta with Chicken and Broccoli
(Cook's Illustrated Jan/Feb 2005)

• 4 tbsp unsalted butter
• 1 lb boneless, skinless chicken breasts trimmed of fat and cut crosswise into 1/4" slices
• 1 small onion, chopped fine (2/3 cup)
• Salt
• 6 medium garlic cloves minced or pressed (2 tbsp)
• 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
• 2 tsp roughly chopped fresh thyme leaves
• 2 tsp all-purpose flour (I tend to use a little more - like 2 tbsp)
• 1 cup dry white wine
• 2 cups low-sodium chicken broth
• 1 bunch broccoli (1 1/2 lbs), florets trimmed into 1" pieces (6 cups)
• 1/2 lb penne, ziti, cavatappi, or campanelle (I used bow-tie tonight)
• 2 oz finely grated Asiago cheese (1 cup), plus extra for serving (you can substitute Parmesan)
• 1 jar (7 - 8 1/2 oz) oil packed sun-dried tomatoes, rinsed, patted dry, and cut into 1/4" strips (1 cup)
• 1 tbsp minced fresh parsley leaves
• Ground black pepper

1. Bring 4 qts water to rolling boil, covered, in stockpot.
2. Meanwhile, heat 1 tbsp butter in 12" skillet over high heat until just beginning to brown (about 1 min). Add chicken in single layer; cook for 1 minute w/o stirring, then stir chicken and continue to cook until most, but not all, pink color has diappeared and chicken is lightly browned around the edges (about 2 min longer). Transfer chicken to clean bowl; set aside.
3. Return skillet to high heat and add 1 tbsp butter; add onion and 1/4 tsp salt and cook, stirring occasionally until browned around edges (2-3 min). Stir in garlic, red pepper flakes, thyme, and flour; cook, stirring constantly until fragrant (30 sec). Add wine and chicken broth; bring to simmer, then reduce heat to medium and continue to simmer, stirring occasionally until sauce has thickened slightly and reduced to 1 1/4 cups (15 min).
4. While sauce simmers, add 1 tbsp salt and broccoli to boiling water; cook until broccoli is tender but still crisp at center (2 min or less). Using slotted spoon, transfer broccoli to large paper towel-lined plate. Return water to boil; stir in pasta and cook until al dente. Drain, reserving 1/2 cup pasta cooking water; return pasta to pot.
5. Once sauce is thickened, stir remaining 2 tbsp butter, Asiago, sun-dried tomatoes, parsley, and chicken into sauce in skillet; cook until chicken is hot and cooked through (1-2 minutes). Off heat, season to taste with pepper. Pour chicken/sauce mixture over pasta and add broccoli; toss gently to combine, adding pasta cooking water as needed to adjust sauce consistency. Serve immediately, passing additional Asiago seperately.