Luigi Chicken This dish is reverse engineered from Chicken v/// served at Luigi's Bistro in Bedford MA, with some additions to make it a one dish meal. The quantities are not very important. You could double or halve most ingredients and it would still be a fine dish. You can omit several ingredients and still have a fine dish. pasta as much as you cook for the number of people boneless skinless chicken breast halves one per person, or more shortening for cooking sun dried tomatoes several pieces per person capers a teaspoon to a tablespoon per person, rinsed frozen artichoke hearts about 2 or 3 per person mushrooms one 4 ounce can for two people, or fresh olives, black or green, or a mixture, a few per person salt for brining 1 tablespoon per cup of water flour for dredging garlic chopped onion salt and pepper for seasoning parsley fresh preferred, chopped wine chablis, chardonay, pinot grigio, sherry, vermouth, or your favorite chicken stock vegetables to cook; try any of these or others, or a combination. fresh broccoli frozen peas carrot snow peas red or green peppers Brining makes the chicken tenderer and moister. Even if you don't brine the chicken, the dish will still be fine. Make enough brine to cover the chicken. Many brine recipes include sugar or various herbs and spices. The sugar is to improve browning on the grill. It will make a mess in the pan, so be sure to omit sugar. You can add any herbs and spices you prefer in your brine. Prepare the chicken for brining. You can leave the pieces whole, butterfly them, or slice them horizontally. If the pieces are not uniformly thick, pound the thicker parts to get them as uniform as practical. Brine the chicken. The thin pieces should get 30-60 minutes. The whole pieces should get 60-120 minutes. If you cut the time short, you still get some of the benefit. If you brine the chicken overnight, no harm is done. Start the pasta water. Add salt and a little olive oil to reduce the pasta sticking to itself. Prepare the other ingredients. If using peas, nuke them to almost done. If using broccolli, cut it into small flowerettes, smaller than for a Chinese stirfry. Blanch them in water or microwave oven to brighten the color and leave the amount of crunch you like. If using fresh mushrooms, slice them. If using canned mushrooms, open and drain well. If using fresh peppers, blister and skin them, if that is your thing. If you skin them, cut them in squares so the diners will notice your extra work. Otherwise, cut them into thin strips and the tough skin will not be noticed. You can use frozen peppers or pimento and cut it the same way. Check that the capers are rinsed. If using snow peas, string them, the cut the larger pods into 2 or 3 pieces, on the diagonal. If using fresh garlic, mince it. If using onion, chop it. You do not need much. If using carrot, peel it. Then slice it thinly on the diagonal and blanch it or steam it, or use the peeler some more to make thin strips. Leave the olives whole, or cut them in half, or into slices, whatever you think is most attractive. Cut the pieces of sun dried tomato into matchstick strips. If there is extra oil, add it to the cooking fat. Cut the artichoke hearts into strips. Rinse the chicken briefly and pat it dry. Season both sides with salt and pepper. If you like to use a seasoned salt, use it here. Dredge the chicken in flour, if you like, and shake off the excess. The flour makes it easier to get browned nicely and makes the sauce a little thicker a little sooner. Brown the chicken in however much of whatever you like, over medium heat. Turn the heat down a little and continue cooking gently until almost done. Transfer to a plate and keep it warm, but don't worry about it. You will have a chance to rewarm the chicken. Pour off most of the fat, but do not discard it; you might need it later. Start the pasta. Add any ingredients that need a few minutes of extra cooking, such as the onion. When it softens, add the wine and deglaze the pan. Turn up the heat to medium high and boil off the alcohol. Add the chicken stock and continue boiling to thicken the sauce. If you used flour, this will go faster. As the sauce thickens, start adding other ingredients, beginning with those that need the most cooking or warming: garlic, fresh mushrooms, carrot slices. When the sauce is the right consistancy, add artichoke hearts, peppers, broccoli, dried parsley, canned mushrooms, snow peas, carrot strips, peas, sun dried tomatoes, olives, capers, and fresh parsley. The end is a rush. Somewhere along the way, the pasta will be ready. Reserve about a cup of the liquid and drain the pasta. Add the chicken to the sauce to reheat it, with the timing depending on how warm it was kept. When the chicken is warm, remove it again and cut it on the diagonal into several pieces. Adjust the seasonings if necessary and adjust the consistency with more stock or the reserved pasta water. Serve the sauce separately or on top of the pasta. place the sliced chicken on top of the sauce, retaining the shape of the original pieces, but placing them slightly separated. Enjoy with grated Parmesan or Romano cheese.