By Steve Siciliano
We’re in the midst of grilling season and while I like my burgers, brats, steaks and dogs as much as the next guy, I have to admit that during the dog days of summer my favorite grilled meat is chicken. Slathering the fowl in barbecue sauce is always good but even better in my book is dipping breast filets in an olive oil wash, coating them in Italian bread crumbs and then grilling them over high heat to a dark golden brown.
I like to accompany the grilled chicken with a side dish of pasta. When vine ripened tomatoes are in season, Barb and I will use the ripest and juiciest to make fresh sauce with sweet onions, basil and a touch of sugar. Since the good tomatoes are still a couple weeks away we recently dressed our fettuccine with a simple mushroom sauce we concocted with a one ounce package of Earthly Delights Stir Fry Mix dried mushrooms.
We reconstituted the mushrooms in vegetable broth then sautéed them in the broth along with a touch of olive oil and seasoned them with garlic salt and red pepper flakes. When the pasta was served, we topped it with grated Parmesan a handful of fresh, chopped basil.
Pair this light, flavorful and healthy dish with a bottle or two of good pinot noir.