Lamache's Italian Restaurant Jefferson, Texas

When we're craving Italian food, this is one of our absolute favorite places to eat. Mitchel's favorite is their "Chicken Diavolo", which they describe as "Grilled Chicken Breast, Chopped and Cooked in our Diavolo Sauce as spicy as you dare!". While we don't have their secret recipe, we do have our own tasty version of their dish to share with you:

Main Ingredients:

• 6 large chicken breast halves, boned, skinned and slightly flattened with a meat mallet
• 1/2 cup finely minced fresh parsley
• 1 teaspoon lemon-pepper spice
• Dash of salt
• Dash of garlic powder
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
• 1/2 cup red wine, preferably Chianti
• 1 1/2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
• 1 1/2 cups onion-garlic flavored croutons
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 6 cups cooked pasta

Diavolo Sauce Ingredients:

• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 medium onion, finely chopped
• 6 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 3/4 teaspoon dried basil
• 3/4 teaspoon dried marjoram
• 3/4 teaspoon dried crushed red pepper
• 2 28-ounce cans Italian-style tomatoes
• 1 cup canned crushed tomatoes with added purée
• 1/2 cup dry red wine

Instructions:

To make the Diavolo sauce, heat the olive oil in a heavy large saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion, garlic, oregano, basil, marjoram and crushed red pepper. Cover and cook until onion is translucent, stirring occasionally, about 10 minutes. Add remaining Diavolo Sauce ingredients; simmer gently, uncovered, until sauce thickens and measures 8 cups total, breaking up tomatoes with spoon and stirring occasionally, about 1 hour 15 minutes. Season sauce to taste with salt and pepper.

To prepare the chicken breasts, Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Chop the chicken breasts into 1 inch cubes, then toss with the minced parsley, lemon-pepper, spice, salt and garlic powder. In a large skillet, saute the cubed chicken in the 3 tablespoons of olive oil until golden brown. Remove from pan with tongs and place in a casserole dish.

Combine the Diavolo Sauce with wine and pour over chicken. Spread the shredded mozzarella cheese evenly over top.

Toss croutons with the 1 tablespoon of olive oil and sprinkle on top of chicken. Bake 30 to 40 minutes until golden brown and bubbly.

While casserole is baking, prepare pasta. Spoon chicken cubes and sauce onto pasta bed, and serve with crusty Italian bread or rolls and a green salad. Enjoy!