‘The Pioneer Woman’ Ree Drummond’s Mushroom and Black Pepper Pasta Recipe

The Pioneer Woman recently whipped up a special Valentine’s Day dinner for Ladd. One of the meals she included was a tasty pasta dish. Here’s how to make Ree Drummond’s recipe for mushroom and black pepper pasta.

Ree Drummond’s mushroom and black pepper pasta

Drummond describes this pasta as cheesy, quick, and creamy. She starts by sautéing the mushrooms in a skillet. Drummond says he can’t imagine a romantic dinner without mushrooms.

“It’s hard for me to think of a beautiful, romantic dinner without mushrooms because I actually am in love with mushrooms,” jokes Drummond. In addition to the mushroom, she adds garlic and butter to the pan. She also adds salt. Drummond says it’s best to wait to salt the mushrooms because too much salt will create additional moisture.

Next, Drummond adds heavy cream and Parmesan cheese. “This is no time to make healthy choices,” she jokes. Drummond then adds cracked black pepper and ground pepper. She says she does this so that the sauce has a pop of peppery taste. “So, you’re getting pepper from both directions,” says Drummond on her show. “You want it to be super peppery just so that it packs a punch with every bite.”

Drummond then adds linguini to the sauce. She says you can also use fusilli, penne, or any pasta you prefer. It doesn’t have to be linguini if that’s not what you like. Next, she turns the heat down and tosses the ingredients in the pan. Drummond says if the pasta and sauce become too thick, you can add a little pasta water. You can find the complete ingredients list and directions here.

Ree Drummond’s crispy herb-crusted chicken cutlets recipe

Drummond likes to combine her mushroom and black pepper pasta with crispy herb-crusted cutlets. She uses three dishes to help her with what she calls a “breading assembly line.” The Pioneer Woman places flour, salt, and pepper in the first dish. She adds a beaten egg and milk to the second dish. For the third dish, Drummond adds panko crumbs along with chopped oregano, thyme, and rosemary in addition to salt and pepper. She says you can also add Parmesan cheese to the mixture if you’d like.

Breading the chicken

Next, Drummond begins breading the chicken. She dredges the chicken in flour first, followed by the egg and milk mixture, and then the herb crumb mixture. She says it’s important to pat the chicken and make sure it gets thoroughly coated.

 For the next step, Drummond heats up butter in a skillet. She places the breaded chicken into the skillet. After a few minutes, Drummond turns over the chicken cutlets. She warns home cooks not to cook the cutlets too long because they will get dry. As soon as she takes the chicken out of the skillet, she sprinkles them with sea salt.

“I love making Valentine’s Day dinner because it’s just dinner for two,” says Drummond on her show. “And you don’t have to make too much of any of the food, which is really great.” You can find the complete ingredients list and directions here. If you’re looking for more chicken recipes, try one of Drummond’s 16-minute chicken dinners.

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