Blackened Chicken Alfredo

So I've been in the frame of mind to try new and interesting things lately, and one of the things I decided I wanted to do was find a recipe something similar to Charlie's Blackened Chicken Fettuccine.

What I found isn't quite the same, but turned out tasty nevertheless.

And this arrangement serves 4 conservative portions.  The sauce may run dry, so you might bolster it a little if you like your servings more saucy. :-)

First, I brought water to a boil and began to cook a pound of whole-wheat penne pasta.

Then I pounded out two chicken breasts flat (I like putting them between two sheets of plastic wrap, and giving them a good wallop with the bottom of my marble mortar.  No fuss, no muss.

After that, I liberally coated one side of the breast in Emeril's Essence (though any good blend of good rubs and seasonings would work as long as they will toast well).  Pop it in the hot cast iron pan with a 1/2 tblsp pat of butter, and let it cook for a good 3-4 minutes until the surface chars.  Coat the other side, top with another pat of butter, and flip.

For the sauce, I sautéed a cup of green pepper (recipe called for red, which I think would have tasted better, but I forgot to grab it), a cup of scallions (green onions), and a cup of mushrooms, all 3 diced up, in about two tablespoons of olive oil.

Once they softened up a bit, I added in a whole pint of heavy cream, 2 tablespoons of butter, and let it come up to just the other side of a simmer.  Then I added a good fist full of Parmesan, and stirred to incorporate.  Salt and pepper to taste.

Plate some pasta, sauce over the pasta,  chicken breast sliced, and then placed on top of the pasta with a little drizzled of sauce over top.

Nom!

Portion-wise, we found that with good sized breasts, as is often the case ;-), one split between us was good to go with about a quarter of the pound of pasta, give or take.

While this wasn't faithful to what Charlie's makes, it was very good on its own.  I hope to tweak this to make it something more like the recipe I love, but I would definitely make this again, and may even see about mixing things up between the two for the sauce when the time comes.