Rosemary Chicken and Stuffed Pasta

I was thinking about pasta again, so I decided that it was necessary to share this new favorite of mine. It is unique but very flavorful. I like making menus when planning for the week instead of just coming up with ideas for main dishes. Earlier this summer, I bought one of Rachel Ray's 30 Minute Meals cook books from Borders as they were having their going-out-of-business sale. I went all out a couple of times this summer and made the full menus, but found out I still like to make individual recipes. That's why I decided to post this one recipe instead of the whole menu it appeared with in my book. I was not used to cooking with balsamic vinegar when I found this, and I had to go out and buy a bottle before I could make dinner. Since my husband doesn't like rosemary, I actually left it out.

Chicken
2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 stems rosemary, leaves stripped and chopped
salt and pepper, to taste
2 cloves garlic, cracked from the skin with the flat of the knife


Ravioli
salt and pepper, to taste
1 package fresh or frozen ravioli, any filling
3 tablespoons butter, cut into small pieces
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
2 handfuls grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 cup fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves, chopped

Marinate the chicken: coat chicken in balsamic vinegar, then olive oil. Season the chicken with rosemary, salt, and pepper, and let stand 10 minutes.

Start the ravioli: Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Salt water and drop ravioli in water. Cook 6 to 8 minutes or until the raviolis expand and float to top of the water and are al dente. Drain.

Heat a medium nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add chicken breasts and cracked garlic to the pan. Cook chicken until juices run clear, 10 to 12 minutes, turning occasionally. The balsamic vinegar will produce a deep brown, sweet finish on the chicken as it cooks.

When the chicken has cooked midway, 5 or 6 minutes, start to prepare butter for ravioli: to a cold skillet, add butter and turn on medium heat. Let the butter brown. If you start with a cold pan, the butter should be lightly browned by the time it comes to a bubble. When the butter for the ravioli has browned, add cooked ravioli to the pan and turn in the butter to heat through. Add balsamic vinegar to the ravioli and cook 1 to 2 minutes longer to reduce the vinegar and glaze the ravioli. The vinegar will become thick and syrup-like. Add cheese, parsley, salt, and pepper to the pasta and remove the pan from the heat.

Slice the chicken on an angle and serve with ravioli.

Source: Classic 30 Minute Meals: The All-Occasion Cookbook