copycat recipes:

CARRABBA'S CHICKEN MARSALA

4 T. butter
4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
4 shallots, chopped fine
1/2 lb. mushrooms, sliced
1/4 C. DRY Marsala
1/2 C. heavy cream
1 tsp. lemon juice
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

In large skillet, melt 2 tablespoon butter over medium heat, add chicken and sauté1/4 turning once, until lightly browned, about 2 minutes on each side. Remove and set aside. Melt remaining butter in pan and add shallots and mushrooms. Cook until mushrooms are lightly browned, 3/5 minutes. Add Marsala and bring to a boil, scraping up any browned bits from bottom of pan. Add cream and lemon juice, and return to a boil. Season with salt and pepper. Return chicken to pan and cook, turning in sauce, for about 3 minutes to reheat and finish cooking. Serve with buttered fettuccini.

CARRABBA'S ITALIAN GRILL STUFFED MUSHROOMS PARMIGIANA

12 to 15 large mushrooms
2 T. butter
1 medium onion, chopped finely
2 oz. diced pepperoni
1/4 C. finely chopped green pepper
1 small clove garlic, minced
1/2 C. finely crushed Ritz crackers, about 12 crackers
3 T. grated Parmesan
1 T. chopped parsley
1/2 tsp. seasoned salt
1/4 tsp. dried oregano
1/3 C. chicken broth

Preheat oven to 325?F. Wash mushrooms and remove stems. Finely chop stems and reserve. In a large skillet, melt butter and cook onion, pepperoni, green pepper, garlic, and chopped mushroom stems until tender but not brown. Add crackers, parmesan, parsley, salt, oregano, a dash of pepper, and mix well. Still in broth. Spoon mixture into mushroom caps, heaping tops. In a shallow baking pan with 1/4-inch water covering bottom of pan, place stuffed mushrooms. Bake uncovered about 25 minutes until heated thoroughly.

CARRABBA'S SPIEDINO DI MARE 4 scallops, size U-10 to U-20
4 shrimp, size U-16 to U-20
Pinch of Kosher salt
Pinch of white pepper
Splash of olive oil
Seasoned Italian bread crumbs
2 oz. lemon butter
Pinch of parsley, chopped

Lightly season scallops and shrimp with salt and pepper. Lightly coat with olive oil, then dip in seasoned bread crumbs. Skewer and grill on both sides. Melt lemon butter and serve with seafood. Sprinkle chopped parsley on top. Note: I found that it tasted more like the Carrabba's dish when I just poured the lemon butter over the scallops and shrimp and served it like that instead of having it on the side.

CARRABBA'S ITALIAN GRILL BREAD DIP MIX

1 T. crushed red pepper
1 T. black pepper
1 T. dried oregano
1 T. dried rosemary
1 T. dried basil
1 T. dried parsley
1 T. garlic powder
1 T. minced garlic
1 tsp. salt

Grind together. To use, put 1 tablespoon of mixture in a small bowl. Pour extra virgin olive oil over and mix together. Dip warm sourdough French bread into the mixture.

CARRABBA'S ITALIAN GRILL BRUSCHETTE CARRABBA

1 loaf Italian-style or French bread
1/2 C. (1 stick) butter, softened
3 to 4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
3 slices Fontina cheese, thinly sliced and trimmed to fit bread slices
3 slices mozzarella cheese, thinly sliced and trimmed to fit bread slices
3 oz. mushrooms, sliced, and saut饤 in butter
3 slices Roma tomato, sliced 1/4-inch thick
1 1/2 T. pesto sauce (use the classic Pesto containing basil and pine nuts - available in most grocery stores)
Pinch of extra-virgin olive oil
Pinch of fresh basil, cut into fine strips (julienne strips)

Bake loaf of Italian bread in oven until lightly browned. Slice the bread into 1/2-inch slices and discard end pieces. Cut larger middle slices into equal halves. Mix softened butter with chopped garlic and garlic powder. Spread garlic butter over six of the smaller pieces of bread. Place fontina slices on 3 buttered slices of bread. Place mozzarella on the three remaining pieces of buttered bread. Place saut饤 mushrooms on top of the fontina cheese. Top the mozzarella cheese with the tomato slices and Pesto. Place all six slices on a baking pan and bake in a preheated 500?F oven for 4 minutes, or until cheese has melted. Remove from oven and top fontina-mushroom bruschette with a drizzle of olive oil. Do not add olive oil to the tomato-pesto bruschette. Sprinkle all bruschette with the thinly sliced basil leaves. Makes - 6 slices.