The secret to this recipe is finding the right wine. Finding restaurant recipes is one thing, finding all of the right ingredients can be the biggest challenge.

When making this pasta from The Cheesecake Factory™, don’t just buy any Madeira wine you find.  Make sure you’re using the deep red Madeira wine which has a nice sweet flavor to it.  There are some pink and white Madeira wines with a completely different flavor.  Don’t make the mistake of using those in this pasta dish.  You’ll definitely be disappointed.

Many cooks have experimented with this recipe and I believe I’ve brought together the best of all of them to create a very close copycat of the restaurant recipe. Please comment below if you think this is missing something or could use some improvement.

Ingredients

• Penne Pasta – Enough for 2 servings according to the box
• 1/4 Red Onion – Chopped
• 1/2 cup Button Mushrooms – quartered
• 1 tsp Garlic – chopped, not minced or crushed
• 1/2 lb Chicken Breast – Cut into bite-size pieces
• 3 Tbsp Butter
• 1 Tbsp Flour
• 1 tsp Salt
• 1 cup Madeira wine (red)
• 1/2 cup Water
• 2 Tbsp Heavy Cream
• 1 Tbsp Parsley

Directions

1. Follow the directions on the box for the pasta.  Make sure you cook them “al dente”.
2. Saute onions, mushrooms and garlic in 1 Tbsp of the butter until tender.
3. Remove the onions, mushrooms and garlic and set them aside until later.
4. In the same pan, cook the chicken, stirring frequently.
5. Remove the chicken and it aside until later.
6. To the same pan, add 2 Tbsp butter and melt over a low-medium heat.
7. Sprinkle the flour over the butter and stir to make a roux.
8. Slowly add in the wine, water and heavy cream, stirring constantly.
9. Cook over a medium-high heat until thickened – Stirring often to keep it from sticking to the bottom of the pan.
10. Add the parsley and let simmer for a few minutes.
11. Add the chicken, mushrooms, garlic and onions back in and simmer for 2 more minutes.
12. Pour over the pasta and server with Parmesan cheese.