[thechat] Chicken Fettuccine Alfredo with Vegetables in White Wine Sauce (was Perfect soft-boiled eggs)

[Canfield, Joel]

> Any other favourite recipes?

Chicken Fettuccine Alfredo with Vegetables in White Wine Sauce

Preparation time: about 30 minutes
Requires multitasking, and a few practice runs to get everything to come out at the right time. I'm still working on it :(

3 chicken breasts, skinned and boned
16 oz. fettuccine
1-3 small white onions (the smaller the better)
	the best are oversized green onions, about the size of a golf ball
2 small zucchini
2 small crookneck squash
1 bell pepper 
	red if you like it sweeter, green if you like it zippier, both if you're just hungry like me
3 stalks of celery
8-10 baby carrots
1 cup white wine
	sauvignon blanc if you use red peppers, fume blanc if you use green
2 cups milk
1 cup parmesan cheese (real, grated parmesan, not the scary powdered stuff)
	or asiago
olive or peanut oil
corn starch or white flour
onion powder
3 tablespoons sage
salt
white pepper

You'll need three pans: a wok or similar pan for the vegetables, a pan to brown, grill, bake, or fry the chicken, and a good sautéing pan (a stainless frying pan with low sides is good) to make the sauce

Heat the wok.

Boil 2-3 quarts of salted water for the fettuccine. (Tip: never add salt to cold water in a stainless steel pan. It will pit the metal. Wait 'til the water is hot to add salt, and then pour it into your hand or a measuring spoon first, never directly into the water. The steam will make the salt clump in the container.)

Finely dice the carrots and celery. Slice the zucchini and crookneck. Julienne the bell pepper. Onions should be sliced into large chunks, which leaves them sweeter and milder. For the perfect golf-ball sized onions, quartering is perfect.

Toss the fettuccine in the boiling water. Turn it down so it just keeps boiling. Stir occasionally to keep it from sticking together, but don't overdo it.

Grill, fry, or bake the chicken breast with onion powder, salt, and plenty of sage. If it looks almost green, you've got enough.

By now the wok is good and hot. Pour in the oil and toss in the vegetables. For perfect texture, start with the hardest veg and work your way down to the softest; carrots, celery, bell pepper, onion, crookneck, and zucchini. Once they're steaming, pour in the wine and sprinkle on some salt, white pepper, and onion powder. Keep tossing the vegetables in between other steps. Keep 'em moving so they heat and coat evenly.

Prepare the sauce: heat 1/4 cup of oil in a pan, and whisk in 2-3 teaspoons of corn starch or 2-3 tablespoons of white flour. As it thickens, slowly stir in the milk, and add some onion powder and white pepper. Once it thickens again, stir in the cheese. Heat and stir carefully; this is the time when it's okay to neglect the vegetables and the pasta, 'cause you don't want your sauce to burn. Remove from heat.

Turn off the veg. Drain the pasta. Slice or cube the chicken.

Pile up your plates: pasta, vegetables, chicken, and then sauce over the whole thing. Serve with the rest of the bottle of wine you opened for the vegetables.

Serves 4 really hungry people, or 6 normal folks. Serves no children whatsoever 'cause they won't eat the vegetables.