Our daughter and wine club manager, Joanne, has grown up with the Italian culture surrounding her. She is attuned to wine and food pairings and has a great knack of creating her own dishes and sniffing out other good foods. She brings us from Epicurious.com this chicken and Shiitake recipe, which we promptly make-over with her consulting (cooks in the kitchen). Fratelli Perata wines pair with thyme nicely, not so much with sage. We had never used Shiitake mushrooms, always porcini or portabella. Since there is a Trader Joe’s nearby now, we were willing to take the plunge. With a few tweaks from the original recipe, this is a great Mafalda pairing entrée.

Marinate your chicken!

4 large chicken breasts or equivalent of thighs
1 T fresh rosemary, chopped
1 T garlic, minced like Mama in the chicken cacciatore recipe or you can use a cutting board
1/4 cup olive oil

Put all ingredients in a large zip-lock bag. Marinate overnight at least. Turn when you remember.

Sauce ingredients
2 cups chicken broth
3 ounces pancetta, cut into matchsticks
7 ounces shiitake mushrooms, fresh, sliced (TJ sells them in 3.5 ounce packages)
1 T thyme, chopped fine
1 cup whipping cream

Boil chicken broth until reduced to 1 cup, set aside. While that boils, sauté pancetta in large skillet until crisped, 2-3 minutes; remove to large plate. In the same skillet, sauté mushrooms, about 3-4 minutes. Remove to pancetta plate.

To skillet, add chicken, a drizzle more of olive oil, and sauté on both sides over medium heat until a golden crust forms on the chicken, about 15 to 20 minutes, depending on thickness. Chicken should be cooked through, use a thermometer if in doubt.

Add stock and cream to chicken, stir up the good bits of flavor in the bottom of the skillet, simmer briefly until thickened, and then add mushrooms, pancetta and thyme.

Serve over polenta or rice. Is excellent the next day. Enjoy the Mafalda with it.