Long before scientists in Scotland cloned Dolly the sheep, Todd Wilbur was hard at work replicating recipes from some of America's favorite restaurant chains. Armed with Ziploc bags for transporting leftovers and plenty of questions for his servers, Wilbur has combined the skills of a private eye and a research scientist to devise the tasty clones included in Top Secret Restaurant Recipes. Wilbur honed his technique on convenience food, creating exact duplicates of
Menu Description: "Fettuccine tossed with sauteed chicken, mushrooms, onions and red and green peppers in Friday's own spicy, tomato Creole sauce."
There are over 360 T.G.I. Friday's restaurants in 44 states and 22 countries, all serving this Cajun-style chicken pasta. This dish is a bit like a jambalaya except the rice has been replaced with pasta.
Use a large pan for this recipe, and note that for the chicken stock or broth, you can also use a chicken bouillon cube dissolved in boiling water.
This recipe makes two large restaurant-size portions, but could easily serve a family of four.
Serves 2 as a large entree
4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) butter
1 green bell pepper, chopped (1 cup)
1 red bell pepper, chopped (1 cup)
1/2 white onion, sliced and quartered (1 cup)
1 clove garlic, pressed
2 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves
2 teaspoons olive oil
1 medium tomato, chopped
4 to 6 mushrooms, sliced (1 1/4 cup)
1 cup chicken stock or 1 chicken bouillon cube dissolved in 1 cup boiling water
Salt
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/4 teaspoon paprika
1/4 teaspoon white pepper
1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
4 to 6 quarts water
1 12-ounce box fettuccine
2 teaspoons chopped fresh parsley
Melt 2 tablespoons of the butter in a large skillet over medium/ high heat.
Saute the bell peppers, onions, arid garlic in the butter for 8 to 10 minutes or until the vegetables begin to soften slightly.
As the vegetables are cooking, cut the chicken breasts into bite- size pieces.
Prepare a medium-size pan over high heat with the olive oil. When the pan is hot, add the chicken and cook, stirring, for 5 to 7 minutes or until the chicken shows no pink.
When the vegetables are soft (about 10 minutes) add the chicken to the pan.
Add the tomatoes, mushrooms, chicken stock, 1/4 teaspoon salt, cayenne pepper, paprika, white pepper, and thyme and continue to simmer for 10 to 12 minutes until it thickens.
In the meantime bring the water to a boil in a large pot. If you like, add a half tablespoon of salt to the water. Cook the fettuccine in the boiling water until done. This will take 10 to 12 minutes.
When the noodles are done, drain them and add the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter. The butter should melt quickly on the hot noodles. Toss the noodles to mix in the butter.
Serve the dish by dividing the noodles in half onto two plates. Divide the chicken and vegetable sauce evenly and spread it over the top of the noodles on each plate. Divide the parsley and sprinkle it over each serving.
Tidbits If you want a thicker sauce, combine 1/2 teaspoon arrowroot or cornstarch with 2 tablespoons of white wine in a small bowl and stir to dissolve. Remove the pan from the heat before adding this thickener, stir it in, and then put it back on the heat.
