Dinner with Joel and Jaz tonight...yay! I had an absolute blast. Glad we had the opportunity to cook together. A little spinach artichoke dip and french bread for starters and an amazing vodka rustica. I skipped the shrimp as I never think to include ocean things. I should have taken a picture as it was beautiful as it came out of the oven.

Ingredients:
(Gratinata Sauce)

  • 3 tbsp 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

(Topping)

  • 3 tablespoons grated parmesan cheese
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons paprika
  • 4 sprigs rosemary (garnish)
Directions:

  1. Preheat bbq grill to high.
  2. 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.
  3. 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.
  4. Pound the thick end of your chicken breast a bit with a kitchen mallet to make them a uniform thickness. 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.
  5. 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 tbls of grated Parmesan cheese with 1 1/2 tsp paprika, then sprinkle about 1 tbls 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.