Cape Cafe Revisited

How many of you remember Capo Cafe in Virginia Highlands? It was great little Italian restuarant that my friends and I loved to go to in the 80's and 90's. They had many wonderful dishes but our favorites hands down were the Chicken Diablo and the Fettuccine Alfredo. They were both divine. If you were smart and didn't want to have to choose between the two you ordered the Capo Split which gave you a half order of each. Capo Cafe closed in 1998 and I'd often longed for the Split. Last winter my longing came to an end when my friend Suzanne found the recipes online. I recently made the Chicken Diablo and invited everyone over for a trip down memory lane. We cheated a little and used the fettucine alfredo from Trader Joe's. Some of our current friends had never been to Capo's so this dinner served as their initiation into the Split club. Today I'm sharing both the Chicken Diablo and the Capo Cafe Fetticcune Alfredo recipes with you. If you loved Capo's as we did you'll yearn to create your own memory lane experience. If you didn't have the pleasure of visiting Capo Cafe, you are in for a treat with these recipes. I know you will love them. I will warn you though - these recipes will never be included in a healthy eating cookbook. The chicken breast is stuffed with cream cheese, among other things, and the alfreo sauce is loaded with heavy cream. Yeah, like I said - they are divine. Could explain why I was a size 6 back then and a size 12 now. Oh, well it was all worth it.

Mangia! Mangia!

Capo Cafe's Chicken Diablo
Hands on time: 15 minutes Total time: 45 minutes Serves: 4
2 teaspoons vegetable oil
1 cup sliced mushrooms
1/4 cup dry sherry or white wine
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg or to taste
8 ounces cream cheese, softened
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1 teaspoon garlic salt
1 teaspoon dried oregano
4 skinless, boneless chicken breasts
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup chopped pecans
1/4 cup Dijon mustard
1/3 cup chopped fresh parsley

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a small skillet, add the oil. Saute mushrooms with wine and nutmeg until the wine has evaporated and the mushrooms are softened. Set aside to cool. In a bowl, combine cream cheese, thyme, garlic salt and oregano. Add mushrooms and stir to combine.

Pound out each chicken breast until flat. Spread with equal parts of the filling. Roll the chicken and place seam-side down in a baking pan. Bake for 15 minutes. Meanwhile, mix the sugar, pecans, mustard and parsley and spread on top of the chicken. Bake an additional 10 to 15 minutes or until cooked through.
If desired, serve over Capo's Fettuccine Alfredo.


Capo Cafe's Fettuccine Alfredo
Hands on time: 5 minutes Total time: 20 minutes Serves: 4
12 ounces fettuccine
4 tablespoons butter
2 eggs, lightly beaten
3/4 cup heavy cream
3/4 cup Parmesan cheese
Salt and freshly ground pepper

Prepare fettuccine according to package directions.

In a large skillet, melt butter. On low heat, add one egg, whisking constantly to blend. Add the remaining egg, whisking constantly to blend. Gradually, add cream, stirring constantly. When well-blended and warm, gradually add Parmesan. Turn heat up just a little. Stir until well-blended. Add the fettuccine a little at a time and toss until well-coated. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve immediately.