Lemon Chicken Artichoke Pasta

I love a challenge. When we go out to dinner and my husband tries a new dish that he enjoys, he is always asking me if I could make it at home.

So, I head to the kitchen to recreate the meal. Frequently, I am able to capture the essence of the dish, even if the delivery is slightly different. Such is the case with this recipe. When he had it at the restaurant, the sauce was thicker and creamier than what I produced, but still this dish was full of flavor. I loved the contrast of the sundried tomatoes and the lemon sauce. It just felt like such a fresh dish. (Of course, this was take two, as I managed to lose the recipe I jotted down last time I made it)

1 Tbsp Olive Oil
1 Tbsp Minced Garlic
3/4# Chicken Breast, cut into bite size pieces
1/3 c Lemon Juice
1 1/2 c Chicken Broth
1/2 c Sundried Tomatoes, reconstituted
1 can Artichoke Hearts, quartered
1/3 c White Wine
2 Tbsp Corn Starch
2 Tbsp Butter
1 # pasta, cooked

Saute the minced garlic in the olive oil. Add the chicken and cook until no longer pink in the middle. Add the Lemon Juice, Chicken Broth, Sundried Tomatoes and Artichoke Hearts. Allow to simmer and the liquids to reduce. Combine the white wine and corn starch, whisk to combine. Reduce heat and add the wine and corn starch. Allow to simmer and the sauce to thicken. Remove from heat and add butter. Once incorporated, add the pasta. Serve, topped with Parmesan cheese.

Pumpkin Sherbert

I am a big fan of pumpkin. In the fall, I make a variety of dishes using pumpkin (most of them desserts and snacks). I like to use the whole pumpkin - seeds and pulp.

The other day, a friend at work forwarded a recipe for Pumpkin Sherbert. I just knew that I had to try it. She had found it at skinnytaste.com, I tweaked it slightly.

2 1/4 c milk
2/3 c sugar
1 c pumpkin (canned or puree)
2 tsp vanilla
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp nutmeg
pinch of clove
pinch of salt

In a saucepan, combine milk, sugar and pumpkin. Heat over medium heat to a full boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer for a minute.

Remove from heat and add in vanilla and spices.

Allow it to cool and use an ice cream freezer - follow the instructions for your freezer.

I made mine in a bowl. I poured the mixture into a shallow bowl and placed it in the freezer. Every hour or two, I came back and stirred the mixture. It took about 8 hours to freeze to a sherbert consistency. This approach makes a more grainy sherbert, because of the way you disrupt the crystal structure at longer intervals and over more time, compared to the constant disruption in an ice cream freezer.