It'sa Lemon Butter Chicken, Mes Amichis

UPDATE: Got the pictures to work! Hallelujah!

Sorry, this was supposed to have posted overnight, but Blogger didn't want to cooperate. And apparently the pictures have disappeared. I'm in the process of trying to reload them, so bare with me please.

When the hubby and I first got engaged, we had planned this great trip to Italy for our honeymoon. Then the military called and we had to change our plans. We ended up marrying a year early and taking a much smaller honeymoon to Washington D.C. (its was absolutely gorgeous in October; if you ever have the chance to visit in the fall, definitely do it). As great as it was in D.C., it was still a bit of a letdown to not be able to feast on all of the great dishes that come from the beautiful country.

I wish I had known about this Lemon Butter Chicken Pasta four years ago. We would have been eating it at least once a week for dinner and a couple of times the following days as leftovers. It's oh so bad for you with the bacon and lemon-cream-butter sauce, but as long as you don't actually eat it once a week, you'll be fine.

This one got quite a few changes to it to suit my picky tastes. Obviously, you can still follow the original, and I'm sure you'll have just as good of results as we did. One thing though, if you do follow the original, still add the tomatoes like we did. It truly enhances the tartness of the lemon juice in the sauce and turns it a pretty shade of pink (very appropriate for Breast Cancer Awareness Month).

Lemon Butter Chicken with Pasta
Recipe from All Recipes, adapted by me

Lemon Butter Sauce:

1/4 cup white wine (I used chicken broth, but that's only because the smell of wine makes me sick right now)

5 tablespoons fresh lemon juice (feel free to use the stuff int he little yellow bottle; I've tried it both ways and didn't notice the difference either time)

5 tablespoons heavy cream

1 cup butter, chilled

salt and pepper to taste

Chicken and Pasta:

1/2 pound dry farfalle (bow tie) pasta

4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves - pounded to 1/4 inch thickness

1 tablespoon olive oil

1/4 cup all-purpose flour

salt and pepper to taste

4 ounces bacon

6 ounces mushrooms, sliced (I left this and the artichoke hearts out)

6 ounces artichoke hearts, drained and halved (substituted in a can of diced tomatoes, but you can also use a fresh one)

2 teaspoons capers, drained (forgot about these completely this time around, and I'm glad I did; they make it a bit too salty)

chopped fresh parsley for garnish

1. To make the sauce, pour the wine and lemon juice into a saucepan over medium heat. Cook at a low boil until the liquid is reduced by 1/3. Stir in cream, and simmer until it thickens. Gradually add the butter 1 tablespoon at a time to the sauce, stirring until completely incorporated. Season with salt and pepper. Turn down the heat, and keep warm (I do this step closer to the end simply because I had it curdle on me the first time I made it when I did it first; still tasted good, just not as pretty).
2. Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to boil. Add pasta, and cook until al dente, about 8 to 10 minutes. Drain, and set aside.
3. While boiling the pasta, make the chicken by heating oil in a large skillet over medium heat. In a bowl, stir together flour, salt, and pepper. Lightly coat chicken with flour mixture. Without crowding, carefully place chicken in hot oil. (If necessary, cook in batches.) Fry until cooked through and golden brown on both sides. Remove the chicken to paper towels. Stir the bacon, mushrooms, artichokes, and capers into the oil; cook until the mushrooms are soft.
4. Cut the chicken breasts into bite-size strips, and return them to the skillet. Stir half of the lemon butter sauce into the chicken mixture.
5. To serve, place pasta in a large bowl. Stir the chicken mixture into the pasta. Taste, and adjust seasonings. Stir in additional lemon butter sauce as desired. Toss well, and garnish with parsley.