A Little Cooking this Weekend

I watched an episode of  'The Kitchen ' on FoodTV this weekend and GZ wrapped some chicken breasts in prosciutto after he stuffed it. The best part about the show as he showed me how to make a pocket neatly in the breast.

While the staff on the show raved about the result I was a bit cold.  Firstly, I like to brine my chicken, and I didn't. It makes it moist and juicy for me.  I made the filling and tasted it before I loaded the breasts and decided I am not a huge fan of ricotta. Its ok but I would have used bread crumbs and amped up the flavor a bit with other stuff.

The prosciutto was cut poorly at the deli and made for an uneven wrap.

Once stuffed and wrapped they enjoyed a brief stint in a very hot skillet before hitting the oven for 12-15 minutes to finish cooking.

I had 2 pans going since I made more filling and kept making more breasts.

Honestly the night of dinner I was not that impressed but as a leftovers today for lunch, it was pretty tasty. Not a lot of filling left inside but it had matured overnight and had a pretty good flavor. I would make this for company with some minor changes.

As posted on FoodTV:

Prosciutto-Wrapped Chicken Breast

2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1/2 cup sun dried tomatoes chopped
4 ounces ricotta
3 tbs chopped walnuts
1 tbs minced sage
1 egg yolk

Salt and pepper
6 slices of prosciutto
1 tbs veg oil
2 tbs capers
1 shallot finely diced
1 c chicken stock
1 tbs butter
1 tbs parsley chopped
 Juice of 1/2 lemon

Preheat oven to 375
I used a boning knife, inserted in the thick end of the breast all the way to the tip then moved the knife back and forth and turning it to create a pocket with a small opening. Make sure you don't poke through the sides or bottom and make sure you have a pretty pig pocket.

Combine the ricotta, tomatoes, walnuts, sage and egg. I used a pastry bag but it did not work well. An old plastic icing kit without a tip worked great. I filled the container, inserted the plunger and placed the opening inside the chicken and pressed. I could feel the breast filling up. I had pierced a breast or two so I lost some filling on those.

After stuffing the breast, salt and pepper them then  arrange the prosciutto  like shingles and wrap around each breast. Heat the oil in your pan of choice (I used both cast iron and my All Clad skillet) and sear the seam side  then flip over and transfer the pan to the oven. Roast for 12-15 minutes to 160 degrees F.

Remove the chicken and set aside. Heat the pan and add the capers and shallots and cook for a minute to soften the shallot. Add chicken stock and reduce by half, then swirl in the butter. Add parsley and lemon juice last. Slice the chicken and serve the sauce over the top.

We served this with just a green salad.

I also made a spread that some friends had purchased for us at an event last week. I was intrigued and read the ingredients label and tried to recreate it. It was pretty successful.

 Basil Pesto Spread

1 package cream cheese at room temp

1-2 tbs pesto. I had fresh basil so I made my own in the food chopper. Basil, olive oil, garlic cloves and walnuts with some Parmesan. Normally I would have used a jarred pesto.
1 tsp onion powder
1 tsp garlic powder
1/2 cup finely shredded Monterey Jack or Italian blend cheese
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
Salt and Pepper.

I just whizzed this in my little food chopper. It was quite tasty and a nice clean green color. Something different for a change.  Served with crackers or toasted baguette.
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