Penne Car...what?

Today is Brian's Birthday. 

I had asked Brian what he wanted to do for his Birthday dinner.  We could order in, go out, make something here, whatever he wanted to do.

He thought about it for a while and then dropped the bomb on me- I want that Penne Carbonara that I had at that Roasted Pear restaurant.  "Ok, you wanna go out.  No problem, what time should we leave?"  Now for the bomb.... 

 "No.  I don't want to go out.  You should make it.  Find the recipe and make it."

Ummmm...ok

I searched online and came across a recipe that looked to be pretty managable.

Here goes nothin'!

Marinated Chicken or Shrimp

• 1 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 1 cup hot water
• 1 Tbsp Italian seasoning
• 1 Tbsp chopped garlic
• 3 lbs chicken strips or large shrimp, peeled and devained (I actually used both)

 Sauce

• 1 cup butter
• 1 ½ tsp chopped garlic
• 3 Tbsp bacon bits (used the precooked bacon)
• 3 Tbsp flour (all purpose)
• 1 cup Parmesan cheese (grated)
• 4 cups heavy cream
• 4 cups milk
• ¼ cup bacon base  (didn't have this or frankly even know what it was)
• ½ tsp black pepper

• 2-14 oz boxes of any long pasta (spaghetti, linguine, etc.) cooked using instructions on package
• ¼ tsp salt

 Topping

• 3 Tbsp Romano cheese, grated
• 3 Tbsp Parmesan cheese, grated
• 1 ¾ cups mozzarella cheese, shredded
• ½ cup panko breadcrumbs
• 1 ½ tsp chopped garlic
• 1 ½ Tbsp melted butter
• 2 Tbsp parsley, chopped

• 1 ½ cups roasted red peppers, cut into small strips (I actually roasted these in the oven for an hour)
• ¼ cup bacon bits (used the precooked bacon)

The Process 

• Preheat oven to 350ºF.
• Marinated Chicken (or Shrimp) - Whisk extra virgin olive oil together with hot water, seasoning and chopped garlic. Add the chicken strips (or shrimp). Cover and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes
• Sauce - Melt butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add garlic and bacon bits. Sauté for 5 minutes, stirring frequently. Add flour, Parmesan cheese, heavy cream, milk bacon base pepper and salt. Use a wire whisk to whip all ingredients together. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and allow to simmer.
• Topping - Combine Romano, Parmesan, mozzarella, panko, chopped garlic, melted butter and chopped parsley in a mixing bowl. Stir until well blended. Set aside.
• Chicken (or Shrimp) - Preheat large skillet. Add chicken (or shrimp) to pan. Add red peppers and bacon bits. Cook for 3 more minutes or until cooked on both sides and internal temperatures reach 165ºF for chicken and 155ºF for shrimp. Add sauce (from above) Stir until well blended.
• Plating - Place hot, precooked pasta on a lager serving platter. Top with chicken (or shrimp) and sauce. Evenly distribute topping over top of chicken (or shrimp). Place in broiler until top is golden brown. Serve immediately and enjoy.

It was DELISH!  For real, like really good.

Whew!  So happy I didn't mess up Brian's Bday dinner!

This picture was stolen from the recipe page :-)