Spicing Up Life with Cajun Chicken Alfredo

When John's son came to visit us this summer, he asked me to make him one of his favorite dinners, Fettuccine Alfredo. Alex follows the blog, and gave me the option of putting a twist on the dish. It didn't take long to find Guy Fieri's Cajun Chicken Alfredo, with blackened chicken, garlic, sun-dried tomatoes, a hint of white wine, and sliced scallions...just the right ingredients to take a standard Alfredo recipe over the top.

I took a quick photo before we ate that evening, and it's been sitting on my desktop waiting patiently to be inserted into a blog post.  As fall sneaks in with cool air and grey skies, a bowl of comforting pasta is sounding pretty darn good.

Cajun Chicken Alfredo
Guy Fieri, via Food Network

Ingredients

4 (5-ounce) boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 cup blackening spice (recommended: Paul Prudhomme's Chicken)
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
3 tablespoons minced garlic
1 cup roughly chopped marinated sun-dried tomatoes
1/4 cup white wine
3 cups heavy cream
3/4 cup grated Parmesan
1 teaspoon sea salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 pound fettuccine
1/2 cup sliced scallions

Directions

Liberally rub the blackening spice over both sides of the chicken breasts, place on a plate, cover with plastic, and refrigerate for about 30 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Heat a cast iron skillet over very high heat. Blacken both sides of the chicken and place in the oven for 10 minutes, or until internal temperature of chicken reaches 165 degrees F on an instant-read thermometer. Slice in strips on the bias and set aside.

In a saute pan over medium heat, add 2 tablespoons of extra-virgin olive oil. Add garlic and saute until lightly caramelized. Add the sun-dried tomatoes, and the chicken slices. Deglaze the pan with the white wine. Add the heavy cream, increase the heat to a simmer, and reduce the cream sauce by half.

In the meantime, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil, and cook the pasta until al dente.

When the cream sauce is to desired consistency, stir in 1/2 cup Parmesan, salt, pepper, and pasta.

Nest the pasta on large rimmed plates, pour sauce over pasta, and garnish with scallions and the remaining 1/4 cup Parmesan.

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I was generous on servings, and this is a rich pasta, but oh my....