Takin' it Back to the Old School: Chicken and Broccoli Fettucine with Basil Cream Sauce

Welcome to Takin' it Back to the Old School, the newest (and only) feature section here in the land of corn starch. On this biweekly feature I will feature the recipes that have always been there. Stuff I've been making since I started cooking when I was 12. Old school stuff, if you will.

When I first starting cooking, all I would make is Italian and Italian inspired food. This is probably because I thought you couldn't really foul up pasta. A later encounter with a terrible oregano obsessed boyfriend of my almost sister would teach me otherwise, but I digress. The point is I made a lot of pasta when I was growing up and learning to love to cook. And I got damn good at it. And I developed a few signature dishes that everyone seemed to ask for over the years.

Today's Takin' it Back to the Old School feature is one such dish. It was one of the first dishes I came up with when I started branching out from Ye Olde Standard Spaghetti and Meat Sauce. My momma loved it and thus I was inspired. I ran with it. And I've spent the last 13 years recreating it, tweaking it here and there and eating it and the compliments it gets me up with a spoon. So, without further ado, I present to you...

Chicken and Broccoli Fettucine with Basil Cream Sauce

12 oz. pasta
2 normal sized chicken breasts (chunked)
1 pkg. frozen broccoli
Olive oil and/or butter as needed
Pinch of hot pepper flakes
Salt and pepper to taste
4 cloves garlic, chopped
1 14.5 oz. can chicken broth
1 cup light cream
3/4 cup Parmesan cheese
1 medium to large batch of basil

Boil some water. When it boils throw the pasta in.

Meanwhile, back at the hall of justice, heat the oil and/or butter in pan with the hot pepper and chicken. Cook about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and broccoli. Cook for about 5 more minutes. Add the chicken broth and bring it to a boil. Add the cream and parmesean cheese. Reduce the heat all the way down as low as your stove will go. Seriously. If you overcook light cream you will destroy your sauce and ruin the lives of children and puppies every where. So turn that sauce down. Dowwwwwwwn. Now.

While that simmers cut the basil en chiffonade. This is a fancy word that means cut the basil into teensy little strips. The best way to do this is to stack several basil leaves, roll them up and cut them. After it's all cut up, add the basil, along with some salt and pepper into the sauce. If your sauce seems thin add some (about 1 Tbsp.) cornstarch. Add pasta, stir it all around. Serve it up. Garnish with some more Parmesan cheese and basil strips. Eat.

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