Dijon Chicken Linguine with Chestnut Mushrooms

I have recently gained an addiction to Pinterest - it seems to be the new craze taking off everywhere. I have to say it is a fabulous idea - I have so many images etc of things I want to make and NEVER know the link back to the site that I needed to get the info as to how they made it so this is just brilliant for organising me - both craft and cooking wise. I'm a sucker for a new recipe but recently I've been pinning LOADS of new recipes but I just don't get to try them - I don't think about it when I'm grocery shopping or run out of time so I have set myself a new challenge - try a NEW recipe every week! Now that's doable, right?!

This evening we had one of my best friends (and bridesmaid at my wedding) Joanna and her new man over for dinner (I was excited to meet him as we keep missing each other whenever he is up to visit her!)

Now, I think I'm getting a reputation for experimenting on guests - not sure if this is a good thing or not but hey its fun and I love a challenge. So below is the recipe I tried which turned out really wonderfully. 

Dijon Chicken Linguine with Chestnut Mushrooms

(Pictured with button mushrooms - courtesy of Rock Recipes )

Serves 4

350 gram package fresh linguine, cooked
4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
1 1/2 cups chestnut mushrooms
3 tablespoons olive oil
4 cloves minced garlic
Salt and pepper to season

Heat olive oil in a large heavy bottomed frying pan over medium low heat. Add chicken breasts, garlic, season with salt and pepper and continue to fry the chicken until completely cooked.
(The original recipe said to remove the chicken at this point but I left it in to cook in my sauce as I figured it would soak up more of the flavours!)

Add to the pan:

4 oz white wine

Simmer until volume is reduced by half. Then add:

2 cups single cream
3 tbsp Dijon mustard
Salt and pepper to season.

Simmer until sauce thickens enough to coat a metal spoon. 

Add the mushrooms and simmer until cooked through (I cut my mushrooms fairly chunky so I simmered for about 5ish minutes!). 

Serve over cooked linguine. 

(The original recipe called for toasted flaked almonds to be sprinkled on top but I forgot to get some so served it without - was delish without but can imagine that the almonds would give a lovely crunch to the dish!)

I served this linguine and chicken dish with a baby leaf salad and a Dion Mustard Dressing! (See recipe below)

Dijon Mustard Dressing

Makes 1 Cup Dressing

3/4 cup olive oil

1/4 cup white wine vinegar

1 tbsp Dijon mustard

salt and pepper to taste

Combine the ingredients in a jar, screw on the lid and shake vigorously! 

Allow to sit for 1/2 hour for the flavours to develop, give another shake before decanting into a pretty serving jug. 

It went down beautifully together! Absolutely one I would try again and it was actually really quick to do but not one for every day as it was quite rich. Perfect for a dinner party though!

Happy Cookin',

Amanda x