Chicken Scallopine

CHICKEN SCALLOPINE
Macaroni Grill Copycat Recipe

Serves 10

Lemon Butter Sauce
1/2 cup lemon juice
1/4 cup white wine
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 pound (4 sticks) butter

6-8 (3-oz.) chicken breasts, pounded thin
oil and butter for sauteing chicken
1/2 to 3/4 cup flour, seasoned with salt and pepper, for dredging
6 ounces pancetta, cooked
1 1/2 cups mushrooms, sliced
1 1/2 cups artichoke hearts, sliced
1 tablespoon capers
1 pound angel hair pasta, cooked
chopped parsley, for garnish

To make the sauce: Heat the lemon juice and white wine in a saucepan over medium heat. Bring to a boil and reduce by one-third. Add cream and simmer until mixture thickens (3 to 4 minutes). Slowly add butter until completely incorporated. Season with salt and pepper. Remove from heat and keep warm. To make chicken and pasta: Cook pasta and drain. Heat a small amount of oil and two tablespoons butter in a large skillet. Dredge chicken in flour and saute in pan, turning once, until brown and cooked through. Remove chicken from pan and add to pan remaining ingredients. Heat until mushrooms soften and are cooked; add chicken back to pan.

To serve: Place cooked pasta on each plate. Add half of butter sauce to chicken mixture and toss. Taste and adjust, adding more sauce if needed. Place chicken mixture over pasta. Garnish with parsley. Alternately, mix pasta and chicken mixture together. Toss with butter sauce.

Grilled Chicken with Mushrooms

GRILLED CHICKEN with MUSHROOMS
Macaroni Grill Copycat Recipe

1 chicken breast
1/4 cup portabello mushrooms
1/2 ounce smoked mozzarella cheese
2 tablespoons olive oil blend
1 tablespoon chopped garlic
2 tablespoons diced red bell pepper
1/4 cup chicken stock
1/4 cup spinach, julienne cut
1/4 cup rosemary
1/4 cup chicken stock
1 cup prepared orzo
sea salt, to taste
freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Cut chicken breast in half, and place skin-side down on the grill. Cross mark and cook half way. Turn breasts over arrange mushrooms on top of breasts. Cover the topped breast with a pie tin. This will heat the mushrooms. In a hot saute pan, place oil, garlic, peppers, salt and pepper. Saute until garlic begins to brown. Add orzo and chicken stock. Saute 1 minute, stirring to prevent sticking. Add spinach and toss until it begins to wilt.

Place smoked cheese slices over mushrooms. Ladle spinach and orzo covering top half of plate. Be sure to remove all from pan. Using the same hot saute pan, place stock and deglaze over heat. Bring to a boil. Shingle cooked breast off spinach orzo and top with the sauce.

Shrimp Portofino

SHRIMP PORTOFINO
Macaroni Grill Copycat Recipe

Serves 4

16 medium mushrooms
2 teaspoons chopped garlic
1/2 cup butter, melted
16 large shrimp, cleaned
1/2 teaspoon pepper
3 cloves fresh garlic, crushed, peeled, minced
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
1 jar marinated artichoke hearts
4 slices lemon
2 tablespoons parsley

Saute mushrooms and garlic in butter until almost tender. Add shrimp and saute until shrimp is cooked, about 3 minutes (Do not overcook!). Add remaining ingredients except the lemon and parsley and heat through. Serve over pasta or rice. Garnish with lemon slices and parsley.

Notes: After looking at the menu description "jumbo shrimp, capellini, spinach, mushrooms, pine nuts, lemon butter" I would omit the artichokes hearts and wilt some spinach into the sauce and serve over angel hair pasta to make this more like the dish at Macaroni Grill

Shrimp Pignoli Pasta

SHRIMP PIGNOLI PASTA
Macaroni Grill Copycat Recipe

Serves 4

24 Jumbo shrimp, peeled and deveined
3 cups sliced mushrooms, washed and sliced
1/4 inch thick
1 1/2 tablespoon roasted pine nuts
6 handfuls fresh spinach leaves
6 cups cooked vermicelli pasta
4 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons fresh garlic, minced

Lemon Butter Sauce
1 tablespoon shallots, minced
1 tablespoon fresh garlic minced
1/2 cup dry white wine
1 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup lemon juice, freshly squeezed
1/8 teaspoon white pepper
1 pound lightly salted butter, cut into tablespoons

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Wash spinach and remove stems before drying leaves between paper towels. Set aside. Spread pine nuts over bottom of sheet pan and place pan in oven on top rack. Roast until golden brown, approximately 2 to 4 minutes. Remove from oven and set aside. Peel and devein shrimp. Set aside. Wash and slice fresh mushrooms.Set aside. Boil pasta in large pot of water to al dente stage according to directions on package. Set Aside


Prepare lemon butter sauce: Melt 1 tablespoon butter in large skillet over medium-high heat. Saute shallots and garlic until translucent. Add white wine and reduce slightly, whisking occasionally. Add cream and lemon juice and reduce slightly more. Add white pepper. Lower the heat to low. Add remaining butter 2 tablespoons at a time,whisking continuously after each addition to completely incorporate butter. Continue to simmer, whisking until sauce just coats spoon

In large skillet over medium-high heat melt the 4 tablespoons of butter. Add garlic and saute until garlic is translucent. Stir in mushrooms, shrimp, and pine nuts. Saute several minutes or until shrimp are done and show color. Remove skillet from heat and gently stir in spinach. Place warm pasta on plate with shrimp mixture to the side. Pour lemon sauce over pasta, permitting a bit of sauce onto shrimp.

Vodka Rustica

VODKA RUSTICA
Macaroni Grill Copycat Recipe

Gratinata Sauce

3 tablespoons butter 2 tablespoons minced garlic

3 tablespoons marsala wine

2 cups heavy cream

1 cup grated parmesan cheese

1/2 cup milk

1/4 cup vodka

1/4 cup water

1/2 teaspoon chicken bullion

1 tablespoon cornstarch

1 tablespoon Grey Poupon Dijon Mustard

2 teaspoons minced fresh rosemary

1/2 teaspoon salt 1/2 teaspoon minced fresh thyme

1/4 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper

1 lb penne rigate cooked

12 medium shrimp peeled and deveined

2 skinless chicken breasts

1/2 cup Prosciutto about 2 ounces thick-sliced, chopped.

Prepare gratinata sauce by melting 3 tbls of butter over medium/low heat. Add garlic and sweat it for about 5 minutes. Be sure the garlic doesn't brown. Add the marsala wine and cook for another 5 minutes. Add the remaining ingredients for the sauce and whisk until smooth. Bring mixture to a simmer and keep it there for 10 minutes or until it's thick. Cover sauce and remove from heat.

Parmesan Topping

3 tablespoons grated parmesan cheese

1 1/2 teaspoons paprika

Italian Garnish

12 sliced pimientos

4 sprigs rosemary

Preheat BBQ grill to high setting.

Cook past following directions on the package (7-9 minutes in boiling water). You want the pasta tender, but not mush (al dente). Strain pasta and set it aside when it's done.

Pound the thick end of your chicken breast a bit with a kitchen mallet to make them a uniform thickness - a great way to relieve stress!

Rub chicken with olive oil, then sprinkle on a bit of salt and pepper. Spear the shrimp on skewers (6 per skewer should work fine), then rub them with oil, and sprinkle with salt and pepper.Grill chicken for 5 to 6 minutes per side. Grill shrimp for 2 minutes per side. When chicken is done, slice each breast into strips.

Preheat oven to 500 degrees. Build each dish in a large shallow baking dish. Or you can use a 9 inch glass or ceramic pie plate. Load 3 cups of pasta into each baking dish. Add one quarter of the chicken, 3 shrimp, and 2 tbls of prosciutto onto each serving. Spoon 3/4 of a cup of gratinata sauce on each serving and toss to coat.

Combine 3 tablespoons of grated Parmesan cheese with 1 1/2 teaspoon paprika, then sprinkle about 1 tablespoon of this mixture over the top of each serving.

Bake the dishes for 10-12 minutes, or until tops begin to brown. Arrange 3 pimentos on the top of each serving, then jab a sprig of rosemary into the center an serve.

Shrimp Artichoke Dip

SHRIMP ARTICHOKE DIP

Macaroni Grill Copycat Recipe

Serves 2

4 cups half and half

2 tablespoons clam juice

4 teaspoons dry white wine

6 tablespoons butter

2 shallots, finely chopped

4 tablespoons flour

8 cups spinach, rough chopped

2 cups artichoke heart (canned artichoke heart chopped)

16 shrimp (peeled cleaned chopped)

1/4  teaspoon cayenne pepper, taste

1/4  teaspoon black pepper, freshly ground

1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese (optional)

In a large saucepan over medium heat, combine half-and-half, clam juice and white wine. In a separate saucepan, melt butter. Add shallots and saute until translucent. Add flour to butter mixture, stirring until flour is absorbed. Cook, stirring constantly, 2-3 minutes. Add heated half and half mixture all at once to the shallot mix, stirring constantly with a wire whip to remove any lumps. Add spinach, artichokes, shrimp, cayenne and black pepper and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer 3 minutes, stirring occasionally, so the mixture does not scorch. Remove mixture from heat, and stir in cheese, if desired. Pour dip into bowl and serve hot.

Apple Crostata

APPLE CROSTADA
Macaroni Grill Copycat Recipe

1 refrigerated pie crust

1/2 cup sugar

3 tablespoons all-purpose flour

4 cups chopped peeled apples

2 tablespoons sugar

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

1 tablespoon butter

1 cup caramel topping (optional)

Heat oven to 400 degrees. Mix 1/2 cup sugar and the flour in large bowl. Stir in apples. The sugar-flour mixture will not all stick to the apples; that's OK. Spread the apple mixture uniformly from center of the dough circle to within 2 inches of edge. Fold edge of dough over apple mixture; crimp edge of dough slightly.

Mix 2 tablespoons sugar, nutmeg & cinnamon; sprinkle over apples and dough. Cut the 1 tablespoon butter into 5 or 6 small pieces; spread on top of the apples. Bake 27 to 32 minutes or until crust is golden brown. Cut into wedges. Serve warm drizzled with caramel topping.

Insalata Florentine

INSALATA FLORENTINE
Macaroni Grill Copycat Recipe

Serves 4
3 ounces julienne-shredded fresh spinach
3 ounces grilled chicken, sliced and chilled
1 ounce ripe Roma tomatoes, diced
1/2 ounce pine nuts, lightly toasted
1/2 ounce sun-dried tomatoes, julienne cut
1/2 ounce capers
1/2 ounce sliced black olives
1/2 ounce julienne-cut radicchio
5 ounces orzo pasta, cooked and chilled
3 ounces roasted, garlic lemon vinaigrette  (see sidebar for recipe)
1/4 ounce shaved Grana Padana Parmesan cheese
fresh cracked black pepper, for garnish

In the order listed, place all ingredients, except Parmesan cheese, in a chilled mixing bowl.
Toss and serve in a bowl. Garnish with shaved Parmesan cheese and fresh cracked pepper