Linguine With Chicken & Sundried Tomatoes

I'm about to share with you the first recipe I ever created on my own. Several years ago I was feeling creative and this dish was the outcome. It's my favorite meal and it is the dish I make for the most special people in my life. It's an amazing date night meal and my hubby vouches for that! The night I made this most recently, I served roasted asparagus as a side. I had one bunch of asparagus, cut the tough ends off. Line a baking pan with foil or parchment paper. Arrange asparagus on the pan in a flat line. Drizzle with olive oil, season with salt and pepper and one minced garlic clove. Bake at 450 for about 20 minutes! Now for the pasta: Here's what you need:

2 garlic cloves, minced

One Minced Shallot

1/4 Cup chopped Sundried Tomatoes
(Buy sundried tomatoes packed in oil)

2 chicken breasts, cubed, 2-3 teaspoons crushed red pepper flake,
small container heavy cream, whole grain linguine, dry white wine,
1 tablespoon Italian seasoning, 1 1/2 tablespoons tomato paste
grated Parmesan cheese, olive oil, salt, pepper

First, preheat olive oil in a large skillet on medium high heat. Add the chicken, Italian seasoning and shallot and cook until chicken begins to turn white. Meanwhile, cook 2 servings of pasta to al dente, drain and reserve. To the chicken, add the garlic, about 1/2 tsp of salt and 1/4 tsp black pepper and cook until fragrant and chicken is somewhat browned. You should notice some color forming in the bottom of your pan. 

Grab a wooden or metal spoon, splash about 1/4 cup of white wine in the pan and begin scraping the brown bits off the bottom with your spoon. (The wine will deglaze your pan and grab all those little bits of flavor!) It may take more than 1/4 cup of wine. Just add some more slowly until all the brown bits have dissolved into the mixture. You are NOT going for a soupy mixture of wine and chicken. I've never actually measured how much wine I use but this is what my pan looked like when I finished the process of deglazing: 

Now, add the sundried tomatoes and tomato paste. Stir until paste dissolves. Slowly add the heavy cream, stirring as you pour. Let the sauce simmer on medium heat for about 5-10 minutes until thickened to the consistency of your liking. Stir in the red pepper flake and as much Parmesan cheese as you'd like then toss with the cooked pasta.

Enjoy!

Link Party!