Spaghetti Alfredo with Chicken

Many people are unaware that what we know as "Alfredo Sauce" does not actually exist in Italian cuisine. The dish, which was invented by Alfredo di Leoli, is a variation of the dish Fettuccine al Burro and only has three ingredients: fettuccine, Parmesan cheese and lots of butter.

A few years ago, I had the pleasure of dining at Alfredo's in Rome, where they still serve Leoli's original recipe. While Leoli's Alfredo is absolutely delicious, the amount of butter his recipe calls for may be a bit more than most of us want to use. Nonetheless, the creamy cheesiness of the dish has stuck with me and last night when my boyfriend presented me with the ingredients spaghetti, chicken and bottled Alfredo sauce, I could not resist complaining about the unauthenticness of bottled Alfredo. And so I set off to invent my own uncomplicated and easy-to-make Alfredo sauce with the ingredients we had in the kitchen.

Ingredients:
12 oz of spaghetti
3 tbsp of butter
1 cup shredded Gouda
1/4 to 1/2 cup cream
2 tbsp shredded Gouda
salt & pepper

Additional Ingredients:
3-4 slices of Prosciutto, chopped
1 chicken breast or a few boneless chicken thighs

Directions:
Boil water
Add pasta and boil until tender
Strain and add some drops of vegetable oil to avoid the pasta from sticking

Wash and clean the chicken
Season with salt and pepper
Heat some olive oil in a pan
Add chicken and cook on each side for 5 minutes
(or until juices run clear and chicken is no longer pink)
Remove from pan and cut into cubes

Sauce:
Melt butter in a pan
When butter has melted, add cheese and stir until melted
Reduce heat and add 1/4 cup cream
Stir and add more cream if needed (sauce will be relatively thick)
Stir until mixed and remove from heat
Add chicken and prosciutto to sauce and mix
Mix in spaghetti
Serve topped with some pepper and shredded cheese

Tips:
Note that we were snowed in and used whatever we had in the kitchen.
You can use spaghetti, fettuccine or any other pasta.
Parmesan cheese can be used instead of Gouda.
I also did not have cream and ended up mixing approx. 1/4 cup bottled Alfredo sauce with 1/4 cup milk to achieve the consistency of cream.

Prosciutto and Gouda Stuffed Chicken with Mushroom Cream Sauce

Very easy to make stuffed chicken with mushroom sauce. This recipe serves two, but can easily be modified to serve more. The mushroom sauce described below probably serves about four.

Ingredients:
2 chicken breasts
4 slices of Prosciutto
4 medium slices of Gouda
3-4 toothpicks
2 tbsp olive oil
1 pack of mushrooms, finely chopped
1/4 cup onions, finely chopped
1/2 cup cream
Salt & Pepper
Optional: 1/4 cup shredded Gouda

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees
Rinse and clean the chicken
Slice the chicken breasts in half
(if the breast is not very thick, try to make the bottom half the thicker part)
Place a slice of prosciutto in the chicken
Top with 2 slices of Gouda
Top with the other slice of prosciutto
Close the chicken breast and secure with toothpicks
Brush with olive oil and lightly sprinkle with some salt and pepper
Put in an oven safe pan
Bake for 30-40 min or until chicken is no longer pink and juices run clear

The dish is not complete without the mushroom sauce!
While chicken is in the oven, prepare the mushroom sauce:
Heat 1 tbsp of oil in a pan
Saute onions for 2-3 minutes
Add mushrooms and saute for ~5 minutes or until mushrooms are tender
Add cream and boil gently for a few minutes
Add salt and pepper to taste

When done, remove chicken from the oven
Remove toothpicks (make sure you get them all!)
Spoon mushroom sauce over the chicken and top with some grated Gouda

Serve with a salad, mashed potatoes or other side dish.

Tips:
If you don't have prosciutto, you can just use ham.
If you don't have Gouda, you can use another cheese, but keep in mind that cheeses like blue cheese and Gorgonzola may overpower the taste of the chicken and mushroom sauce.
You can put more cheese and prosciutto if you want, just as long as you can seal the chicken enough to not have all of the cheese flow out while it's in the oven.
The chicken doesn't brown a lot in the oven. If you want, you can brown it in a pan for a few minutes on each side before placing in the oven.
If you love cheese like I do, you can add 1-2 tbsp of Gouda to the mushroom sauce after adding the cream.