Fettucine alla Fiorentina

[mvscal]

We're going to take the chicken breasts and poach them in butter, mushrooms, shallots and fresh thyme. Remove the chicken, leave mushroom mixture and deglaze casserole over high heat with stock & white wine, reduce to syrup then add cream in increments and thicken. Add cheese, integrate then add chopped spinach and diced chicken and warm. Serve over spinach fettucine.

1.5 lbs boneless, skinless chicken breast
1/2 lbs white button or cremini mushroom, sliced
~2 tbs shallots, minced.
10 oz chopped, frozen spinach (thawed)
8 tbs butter
16 oz heavy whipping cream
8 oz parm-reg or aged parm, grated
1/4 dry white wine (or vermouth)
1/4 chicken stock
6 sprigs fresh thyme
lemon juice
S&P
12-16oz spinach fettucine
baking parchment

Preheat oven to 375.

Wash and dry chicken. Rub it thoroughly with lemon juice on both sides and season well with salt and pepper.

Melt butter over medium heat in 3-5 qt casserole dish. Add shallots and saute for 2 minutes. Add mushrooms and toss thoroughly and saute for another 2 minutes. Add chicken breasts and turn them around the dish covering them with the mushrooms and mix in the sprigs of thyme. Seal the chicken in tightly with a piece of baking parchment and then cover the dish. Place in oven and bake for 30-35 minutes or until done. Remove the chicken and cover. Reserve the mushrooms and broth.

In the same casserole or a heavy bottomed sauce pan, heat the mushroom sauce, the wine and stock over high heat. Reduce until it thickens to an almost syrupy consistency. Add (ROOM TEMPERATURE) cream in 1/2 cup increments and reduce until it begins to thicken and you have the volume you want. Add cheese and mix well. Add diced chicken and spinach and toss well and warm while making final seasoning adjustment.

Serve over spinach fettucine and garnish with chopped flat leaf parsley.