Well, sometimes the stars appear to be in proper alignment and events happen that turn out to be delightful. Mr. C. and several other wonderful musicians in the area were on the faculty of a jazz camp being held at nearby Warm Beach Camp and Conference Center.

And the day before yesterday, Mr. C. happened to be free from about 4:00 in the afternoon until 9:00 pm when he was to accompany 2 of the 3 student (average age 70+) ensembles. Happened our good friend Todd was playing the same gigs and free at the same time. So Mr. C. called me and asked if he could bring a friend home for dinner? Of course! Then I found out it was Todd. That made it even better!

I warned both guys that I was testing a new recipe, but they both agreed that being guinea pigs was just fine with them. (What good sports!)

Anyway, I lucked out. The pasta turned out to be very tasty. And even using 4 cloves of garlic, the over all flavor was subtle, delicate, and delicious. 

I got the idea and bones for this recipe from the Recipe Critic site. I changed a few amounts, added a couple of ingredients, and the results were acclaimed by both guys.

So if you need a very simple, but guest-worthy dish to serve some evening when you don’t have a lot of time, I would offer this recipe as a happy solution. All you need to accompany this dish is a green veggie or a simple green salad. Although, garlic bread would always be a delectable  addition. That, and a bottle of chilled dry white wine.  

• 2 T. extra virgin olive oil
• 2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite sized pieces
• ½ tsp. kosher salt
• freshly ground black pepper
• 10-12 sliced button mushrooms
• 2 T. cognac or brandy, opt.
• ¼ c. unsalted butter
• 1 med. shallot, finely minced
• 4 garlic cloves, finely minced
• 1 T. all-purpose flour
• ½ c. chicken broth
• 1 c. heavy cream or half & half
• ¾ c. grated Parmesan cheese, plus more for passing at table
• 1 c. chopped baby spinach, or more to taste
• 6 oz. angel hair pasta, cooked al dente

Heat the olive oil in a large heavy frying pan. Add the chicken pieces, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and cook just until done (no longer pink). Remove to a bowl. Set aside. Add the sliced mushrooms to the fry pan and cook for a few minutes until tender and slightly browned. Take off heat and add the cognac. Remove the mushrooms to the same bowl with the chicken. Set aside.

Melt the butter in the same pan in which you cooked the chicken and mushrooms. Add the shallot and cook over medium-low heat for 2 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute. Whisk in the flour and keep stirring for 2 minutes.

Whisk in the chicken broth, heavy cream, and Parmesan cheese. Taste and adjust seasonings. Add the reserved chicken and mushrooms, including any juices at the bottom of the bowl.

Stir in the spinach and let the sauce simmer until the spinach wilts and all the ingredients are hot.

Add the freshly cooked al dente pasta. Serve immediately. Pass additional Parmesan cheese.  

Note: This is one of those recipes where it is advisable to prep all your ingredients ahead of time. The actual cooking of this dish takes very little time. So being all prepped is the wise choice.