This is my attempt to replicate the recipe by the same name that TGI Fridays offers. I made this without the red bell peppers, because I’m just not a fan of those things.
Here’s what you’ll need:
1lb Fettuccine pasta
1lb chicken breasts or chicken breast tenderloins
1lb shrimp, cooked, with tails removed
1T butter
2T Olive oil
6 cloves garlic, minced (if you’ve got issues with texture, garlic powder works too)
1pt heavy whipping cream
1T Cajun seasoning
2-3C shredded Parmesan cheese (I prefer to shred it fresh on the spot, but pre-shredded is fine. Just don’t use the Kraft stuff in a can)
Pepper and salt, to taste
Start by heating the water for the pasta.
Slice the chicken breasts into small pieces. I just sliced them short ways across.
In a large skillet, heat the tablespoon of butter until it’s melted and has covered the entire pan. Add the chicken and cook for a few minutes, turning occasionally. If you want to go for a crispier texture, leave it in a while after it turns white and is cooked through. Don’t worry about the brown crud the accumulates in the bottom of the pan; it’ll be gone soon.
Once the chicken is cooked all the way through and crisped to your liking, remove it from the pan and set it aside.
At this point, your pasta water should be boiling. It took about 9-10 minutes for me to cook the fettuccine; you’ll want to start this next step immediately after putting the pasta in the water.
Turn the heat down to medium and add the olive oil and garlic. Toast the garlic lightly in the oil.
Turn the heat down to low. Add the heavy whipping cream, pepper, Cajun seasoning, and, gradually, the cheese. The sauce will thicken as you add cheese and stir. If you’ve got brown stuff on the bottom of the pan from the chicken (we call this flavor), you’ll find it’s actually pretty easy to scrape off at this point.
When you’ve got about 5 minutes to go on your pasta, put the chicken and the shrimp in the sauce to get it warmed back up. At this point you can increase the heat a bit. Turn the chicken and shrimp around a bit to get it good and mixed up in the sauce.
When the pasta is ready, drain and transfer to a large bowl, and then add the sauce, chicken, and shrimp. Toss as best you can.
Serves approximately four to six.
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