Pasta Milano

One of my go-to dishes at Macaroni Grill was this. To be quite honest, I don't remember how it tastes, only that it was cream based, with mushrooms, bowties, and chicken. For whatever reason, I remembered it having asiago cheese. How fortuitous that asiago was on sale ^^. Through the magic of google, I found this recipe.

Ingredients (serves 4)
500g bowtie pasta, cooked and drained
6 slices bacon, chopped
2 chicken chicken breasts, butterfly-cut
1 heaping tsp minced garlic
thyme
sage
1 lb mushrooms, sliced
500mL half and half
1 tsp chicken boullion
150g asiago cheese, finely grated
1 tbs cornstarch
4 tbs sundried tomatoes, chopped.

Method:
Fry bacon, drain and put into a large bowl.
Fry the chicken. When it is almost done, add in garlic, thyme and sage.
Remove from heat, let rest a few minutes, then slice and add to bacon.
Sautee the mushrooms until they release their moisture. Add the contents of the pan, including the mushroom juice into the meat bowl.
Turn the heat to medium/medium-high and heat up the cream.
Whisk in cheese and boullion and mix until the boullion has dissolved, and the cheese has mostly melted.
Stir in the cornstarch dissolved in 2 tbs of water.
Add in the meat, mushrooms, and sundried tomatoes and heat through.
To serve, toss with pasta.


Comments:
I only later remembered that it was called Pasta Milano and went a-hunting for the recipe. It's just as well, because the first recipe I found didn't even call for cheese.

This really needs something tangy, like capers or sundried tomatoes, or even just lemon juice to offset the bitter aftertaste of the cheese.

It is not necessary to make this totally smooth (I don't even know if it's possible, because I didn't have a whisk.


Verdict:
I like it, but I don't think it's quite on the mark.