Click Michelle's Food

A long long time ago, when I was in college, I worked at a restaurant called Pebbles. It was my fist ever exposure to really excellent food. Now, it was the 80s, so you have to cut me a little slack on the uniform of khakis, madras plaid shirts, and knit ties. I credit working at Pebbles with igniting my desire to learn more about food, cooking, and wine. Alas, the last Pebbles restaurant has closed, taking with it any opportunity to eat the blackened thumb bits, duck pepper pot soup, nutty-cheesy salad, and smoked duck and scallops with hot asian spices on angel hair pasta. Yes, they did a lot of duck. Yum.

One of the signature dishes was Chicken Vesuvio, sauteed chicken with a garlicky, lemony, rosemary-y sauce on fat perciatelli pasta. I was feeling sentimental the other day, and went googling for a recipe. Lots of recipes for Chicken Vesuvio, but none were what I was needing a taste of. Then I found the Pebbles Trove.

The ingredient list is ghastly. I said it was the 80s! A whole stick of butter, AND egg yolks? (I remember heavy cream, not egg yolks.) I made a few changes to appease our 2009 sensibilities. I also left out things like red peppers, which were not in the original dishes I tossed tableside in their skillet with Asiago cheese.

Pebbles-inspired Chicken Vesuvio
Yield: 2 servings.

2 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 teaspoons capers
2 1/2 teaspoons chopped garlic
2 teaspoons lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon chopped fresh rosemary
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon chopped fresh parsley
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/2 teaspoon Tabasco

8-ounce boneless skinless chicken breast, cut into strips
1/4 cup chicken stock
1/4 cup white wine
1 ounce lemon juice
2 tablespoons half and half

8 ounces bucatini pasta (perciatelli for authenticity)

4 plum tomatoes, quartered

grated Parmesan cheese to taste (use Asiago for authenticity)

In a large saute pan, melt 2 tablespoons of butter. Stir in capers, 1/2 teaspoon of chopped garlic, lemon juice, rosemary, oregano, parsley, pepper, Tabasco. (OMG, it smells so good!)

Add chicken. Saute until browned. Add remaining garlic, stock, wine, lemon juice. Cook until reduced in volume slightly. Stir in the half and half. Remove from heat. Add warm pasta and tomatoes, toss with tongs. Put on warm platter. Garnish with chopped parsley and top with grated Parmesan.