Is it weird that whenever I see or hear the name Martha Stewart, my mind automatically goes here?
And…HERE?!
(source)
Ana Gasteyer’s topless rendition as Ms. Stewart in the classic SNL parody The Martha Stewart Topless Christmas Special cracks my ish UP, and is always the first thing that pops into my mind when I think about her. I bet she’d be real pleased to know this. 
Say what you will about the poncho wearing, ‘tude sporting, faux accent speaking domestic diva though, ’cause homegirl can cook!
And craft, and decorate, and garden, and…and…and… If I didn’t already know who I want to be when I grow up (ps I found the perfect jean shirt!) Martha’d FOR SURE be in the running.
The ideas and recipes on her website are pretty much no-fail, and combine yummy, classic flavors with quick prep times. Often times they provide a great starting point for me to build off of and customize a dish to make it more my own, like Chicken with Artichokes and Angel Hair!
To Martha’s basic recipe of chicken, artichoke hearts and pasta, I added flavor-packed ingredients like sweet sundried tomatoes, zippy lemon and lip-tingling red chili pepper flakes, to make it IGE approved. Per usual, it came together in less than 30 minutes!
Here’s how you make it. First dredge a couple chicken breasts cut into large pieces in flour that’s been generously seasoned with salt & pepper.
Shake the excess flour of the chicken in a colander,
then cook in a wee bit of hot oil on the stove, until both sides are golden brown and cooked nearly all the way through.
Remove the chicken for a bit, then deglaze the pan with chicken broth and a super special ingredient – lemon zest.
You can’t really pick outthe taste of lemon in this dish, rather it’s just a nice background flavor. I am obsessed with citrus zest, by the way. It looks like angel sprinkles!
To the chicken broth and lemon zest, add tasty ingredients like artichoke hearts, capers, sun dried tomatoes, fresh lemon juice and a wee pinch of red pepper flakes.
Nestle the chicken back in, then let the whole thing bubble away until the sauce has slightly thickened from the flour coating on the chicken.
Toss with light and wispy angel hair pasta and a sprinkling of fresh basil!
THE BEST. Light and refreshing, yet filling too. Plus there’s chicken and red chili pepper flakes in there so husbands will eat it!
Chicken & Artichoke Angel Hair
Serves 4
Adapted from Martha Stewart
Ingredients:
8oz angel hair pasta
1 Tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
2 large chicken breasts, cut into 2″ pieces
1/3 cup flour
salt & pepper
1 cup chicken broth
1/2 teaspoon lemon zest
1 can quartered artichoke hearts, drained
2 Tablespoons capers, rinsed
1/4 teaspoon red chili pepper flakes
1/4 cup sun-dried tomatoes, chopped
juice of 1/2 a lemon
1 Tablespoon butter
Directions:
- Heat extra virgin olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Combine flour, salt & pepper in a shallow dish then dredge chicken pieces, shaking off excess flour. Add chicken to the hot pan and sauté, flipping once, until golden brown and nearly cooked all the way through. Remove to a plate and set aside.
- Add chicken broth and lemon zest to the same skillet and cook for 2-3 minutes, or until the chicken broth has reduced a bit. Add artichoke hearts, capers, chili pepper flakes, sun-dried tomatoes, lemon juice and butter, then nestle the chicken pieces back in.
- Continue to cook over medium high heat until the sauce has thickened and the chicken is cooked all the way through, about 5-7 minutes. Meanwhile cook pasta in salted boiling water until al dente. Drain and return to hot pot.
- Combine artichoke mixture with pasta, toss and serve!
Eeek – it’s almost time for Up All Night! I am this excited for the return of Fall TV!
Have a great night!
~~~~~
What shows are you anxiously awaiting the return of?
I literally cannot wait for new epi’s of 30 Rock and Gossip Girl!!!!
Looks pretty darn tasty! I too have a Martha inspired recipe up my sleeve for this week…its a lasagna recipe using kale (which is currently overtaking my garden).
And yes I look for to Gossip Girl and for some strange reason the show Castle.
ohhh martha.
sounds yummy! i was anxiously awaiting law & order SVU but like half the cast won’t be back so i think it’ll be a flop. so sad. at least there’s reruns on netflix!
I love ya more ‘n my luggage, but let the jean shirt go. Too trendy for our classy IGE! And anyone, for that matter. Also, cowboy(girl) tuxedos come to mind. Maybe you can make it work!
Oh please say it isn’t so?? Jean shirts are back in?? Gross. I hate anything that is jean except a good pair of jeans!
Hahaha no they’re not back in – it’s for a Halloween costume.
1) I’m going to have nightmares of Martha now… Oh Why…WHY!!!!
2) Lovely shots of this one, especially that first one of the food (not the Martha).
3) I don’t have cable, but I love me some Netflix & Hulu, so I have to wait even longer than most for my favorite shows. I can’t wait for the new Dexter and Mad Men!
i’m so excited for up all night as well!!
as far as returning shows, though, good wife and parenthood are my two faves!
Ahhh I LOVE Fall TV and everything Martha. Ok, maybe not EVERYTHING. But, I have DVR’d Up All Night because as a new mom I think I will completely relate. And I CAN NOT WAIT for Grey’s Anatomy!
I completely forgot about that SNL bit. What a classic!
Beautiful pasta dish. So simple and elegant, and I love pretty much anything that involves artichokes. Very nice work!
ooh, angel hair pasta and artichokes?!?! hello!!!!
anxiously awaiting the vampire diaries, glee, and gossip girl!
Love Martha – and I can’t wait for Modern Family and The Middle!!!
Haha I should check out Martha’s site more often. She does have good ideas, even though she’s…different?
I can’t wait for Glee!!!<— theater nerd
I am obsessed with 30 Rock, but I’m still not all the way through the previous seasons—we’re frantically catching up.
Your blog cracks me up.
Looks good. I’m pinnin’ it.
Looking forward to the return of Parenthood, Grey’s Anatomy, Private Practice, and the Walking Dead (yeah…. my fiancee got me hooked on that one!).
Did you know Martha just turned 70?! SAY WHAAAT?! I read it in People’s Mag. I seriously had no idea. I thought she was in her mid 50′s! Jeez louise.
holy sh*t i didn’t know she was that old!!! Confirms that rumor she sold her soul to the devil lol jk
Love that SNL clip. I cannot wait for parks & recreation and modern family to return!
This look super yummy! Going on my long list of recipes to make for sure!
The pasta dish sounds a lot like that panini sandwich I had at Panera today. Still on my mind it was so good.
oh I really want to make this!
I get called Martha Stewart all the time… quite annoying but she is really great.
just like you, i will take this as a starting point and try it with tofu.
i am a bravo tv addict so i cannot wait for the new season of flipping out, and i really hope they have a 2nd season of master chef. loved it.
i am anxiously awaiting Modern Family!!! Do you watch it? I giggle out loud by myself watching it, it’s so freaking funny!!
No! I have tried like 15 times to get into that show and I just can’t for some reason! Everybody always raves about it though!
Wow, these last two recipes you’ve had on your blog and enjoyed for dinner…………………sure look amazing! I am so going to make them, thanks!
This dish looks great, I’ll have to give it a try! But speaking of Ana Gasteyer and SNL, did you hear that Ben and Jerry’s is coming out with a Schwetty Balls flavor of ice cream? I found that hilarious and I can’t wait to try it!
I heard that! Alec Baldwin = da man.
Hahah, oh Martha!
I’m bookmarking this recipe, alongside 8573945 others of yours
My family is huuuuge on lemon + capers +artichoke combination.. and I die for sundried tomatoes! Love this recipe so so much
Wow! Your photos are always so beautiful…they look like they should be in a cookbook or a magazine. When I first saw the picture of the dish I thought it was off of Martha’s site! As for shows, I’m looking forward to Grey’s Anatomy (as always) and Parenthood on NBC.
i was just wanting to buy some artichokes but wasn’t sure what to do with them. i’ll pick some up next time im grocery shopping and try this!
I’m waiting for the return of Criminal Minds, NCIS: LA and the original, and Vampire Diaries.
SNL provides many inappropriate thoughts. JCPenney has a line called Mango and all I can think about is the SNL skit with Chris Kattan as Mango.
That looks like another pasta/artichoke dish you make, I believe from Pioneer woman – right?
I would love to try it, but I have decided making so much food is not a good idea – yikes.
Looks lovely though!
That recipe made me salivate. i think in my kitchen I’d up the artichoke content, add goat cheese, and leave the chicken
I can always do without the chicken haha.
My favorite MAD tv skit ever was the ‘Can I have your number’ skit. I DIE. Work that up-do, girl!
I want to make this right now! And I have all the ingredients! Oh my.
Waiting on Glee, How I Met Your Mother, and Big Bang Theory! And Bones. I’m a tv addict, help!
This looks delicious! I’m a fan of artichokes. So I’m going to have to try this!
I cannot wait for Grey’s Anatomy, Gossip Girl, Glee, The X-Factor, etc…I’m a big tv fan!
Did you love “Up All Night”?! We were so excited for it and loved it.
Can’t wait for next week!
Yes! I LOVED it! Heartily cackling the entire 30 minutes!
I actually made a matrix of my Fall DVRing so I knew what I had to set up = obsessed!
That is amazing.
I’m eagerly awaiting gossip girl to return… And glee. Have you ever read any of the gossip girl books? They are seriously addicting… Even more than the show if that’s possible.
I can’t say I’m much of a tv regular. I like a bunch of different shows, but catch them off an on with reruns. I miss all the good shows like Friends! They were doing a marahton last week on Nick at Nite and it was heaven! Last night they had the one on where Rachel puts beef in her Thanksgiving dessert. “What’s not to like? Custard- good, Jam-good, beef-GOOD” I love Joey
The chicken artichoke pasta looks to die for!
This dinner looks amazing!! IGE good food!
As for TV, where do I begin??
-Castle
-The Biggest Loser
-Gray’s Anatomy
-Modern Family
Loved Up All Night! Definitely have it set to DVR the season. Ana Gasteyer is hilarious. I miss that old SNL crew. Can’t wait to try Ben and Jerry’s Schweddy balls.
OMG how could I have forgotten about Gossip Girl until this very moment?!? For shame. Can’t wait for that, and I’m looking forward to New Girl with Zooey Deschanel.
You dinner looks awesome. I cannot wait for Modern Family and The Middle! I am also a big fan of Parenthood that started this past Tuesday. It’s amazing how much more tv I watch when all these good shows come back in season! I am a lot less productive after work… oh well!
Just finished making and devouring this dish….LOVE! Thanks!