Special occasion dinner - sage and proscuitto stuffed chicken with lemon cream sauce

Are you looking for something great for Easter dinner that's not ham? This just might be it! I was browsing through my most recent Taste of Home and saw a recipe for Chicken Saltimbocca in there. I remember my mom making it once when I was a kid as a special treat, though I don't remember what it tasted like or anything else about it, just the awesome name. The recipe in TOH called for sherry, which I don't cook with. I searched online for other recipes and found that there are about a hundred variations of it. So I took a bit of this recipe and a bit of that recipe and made it my own. Alan gave it two thumbs up. It really wasn't complicated, and it tastes fancy. However, it's definitely not diet food...but you could make it more health conscious if you wanted. I'll add my notes about that at the bottom.

I'll post the full recipe in a minute - just giving you a couple of cooking notes with pictures along the way. I dredged the chicken in flour after stuffing them with proscuitto and sage leaves, and sauted them in olive oil with the lid off for about 4 minutes on each side. Then I added about 1/4 cup of chicken broth and put the lid on. Cooking it with a little bit of liquid ensures a nice moist and evenly cooked finish product. If I were to choose only one pan to take out of my kitchen, this deep lidded frying pan is it. We got a similar one for our wedding and it was the sole resident of our pan cupboard for many months.

Then I take the lid off for the last few minutes of cooking and let the juices reduce down to what you see here. Then I remove the chicken breasts and stir in the remaining sauce ingredients for a very rich and flavorful sauce.

I love asparagus, and seeing it in the stores is one of the first harbingers of spring for me. Last night I roasted it, which brings out amazing flavor for very little effort. I also made a simple rice pilaf on the side.

Without further ado, here you go:

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Rice pilaf:

2 cloves garlic, crushed

2 shallots, minced

2 T. olive oil

1/4 c. pine nuts (optional)

1 1/4 cups long grain white rice (I used basmati)

1 can chicken broth

salt and pepper to taste

Saute the garlic and shallots in olive oil for 2-3 minutes until beginning to soften. Stir in the pine nuts and rice and cook an additional 2-3 minutes until a few grains of rice are beginning to turn golden, then stir in the chicken broth, turn the heat to low and put the lid on. Cook for 20 minutes, or until all the liquid is absorbed, then fluff with a fork and serve.

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Chicken Saltimbocca

3 boneless skinless chicken breasts

fresh sage leaves

3 slices of proscuitto (thinly sliced deli ham may be substituted as well)

1/3 cup flour

1/2 t. garlic powder

few grinds pepper

1/2 t. kosher salt

3 T. olive oil

1/2-3/4 cup chicken broth

Slice lengthwise almost all the way through the chicken breasts to form a pocket. Stuff each breast with a slice of proscuitto and a single layer of sage leaves. In a large, covered, non-stick skillet, heat up the olive oil over medium heat. On a plate, mix the flour, garlic, salt and pepper, then lightly dredge each breast in the flour mixture. Fry the breasts on each side for 3-4 minutes or until lightly golden, then pour 1/4 of chicken stock into the pan and put the lid on. Cook for 8-10 minutes, flip the breasts over again and add another 1/4 cup of chicken stock. Cook for another 5 or so minutes and test for doneness by inserting a knife into the thickest part of one breast. If they are not quite done, add a little bit more chicken stock and let it simmer down. Once they are done, remove them to a plate and turn the heat down to medium low. These were such large breasts last night, the we actually wound up splitting them in half and it was still plenty. Obviously, you will need to adjust your cooking time according to the size/thickness of the chicken that you use, but I trust that you all can figure that out.

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Lemon cream sauce

juice and zest of one lemon

2/3 cup cream

1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese

1/4 cup broth (optional - for thinning, if needed)

Whisk the lemon juice and zest into the pan drippings. If there are some thicker chunks of flour residue, spoon them out. Once it is smooth, whisk the cream in and bring it to a moderate simmer. Stir in the cheese and simmer/whisk for 2-3 minutes until it is totally incorporated and smooth. If it is too thick for your liking (remember, it'll thicken up further as it cools), add a little bit more broth. Add a few grinds of pepper to taste, and serve immediately over the chicken breasts.

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Roasted Asparagus

1 pound asparagus spears, washed and bottom ends snapped off

olive oil

kosher salt

freshly ground pepper

Preheat the oven to 425. Spread the asparagus out on a baking sheet and drizzle with olive oil. Toss to coat, then spread them back out in an even layer. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and roast for 10-12 minutes, or until they are just beginning to look a little shrively. Sprinkle with more salt and pepper if desired, and serve immediately.

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***Nutrition notes. If you want to make the chicken a little more health conscious, you could simply skip the flour dredging and reduce the olive oil to 1 T. since it wouldn't absorb so much. You could also use half and half in the cream sauce, and reduce the cheese (but where's the fun in that?). Steam the rice and asparagus and you've knocked off another several grams of fat.

Grecian_Style Chicken

This recipe inspires me to get my garden going (or growing).

Grecian-Style Chicken

1/4 cup fine dry bread crumbs
4 medium skinless, boneless chicken breast halves (about 1 lb)
2 Tbsp olive oil
1 small zucchini, halved lengthwise and sliced
1/2 medium green pepper, sliced
1/2 medium sweet red pepper, sliced
1 small yellow squash, sliced
Several asparagus spears, cut to 2-in lengths
2 carrots, cut to 2-in lengths, then sliced thinly, briefly steamed
1/2 medium onion, sliced and separated into rings
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/8 tsp salt
dash ground black pepper
2 medium tomatoes, cut in wedges
2 Tbsp water
2 Tbsp lemon or lime juice
3 cups hot cooked rice
1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese (2 oz)

Place bread crumbs in a shallow bowl and coat chicken. In a large skillet, heat 1 Tbsp oil over medium heat; add chicken and cook for 10-12 minutes or until tender and no longer pink, turning once. Remove chicken from skillet; keep warm.
In same skillet, heat remaining oil; add vegetables, garlic, salt and pepper. Cook 3 minutes. Add tomato, water, and lemon or lime juice. Cover and cook 1 minute. Remove from heat.
To serve, divide rice among four dinner plates. Spoon vegetable mixture over; place chicken on top of vegetables. Sprinkle feta cheese over chicken.
Makes 4 servings.

The way to a man's heart is through his stomach

Here's what we did for valentine's day. I always love an excuse to pull out the china. It belonged to Alan's grandmother.

First up on the menu was herb roasted cornish game hens, phyllo parmesan aspargus bundles and carrot basmati rice pilaf. For dessert I made a simple lemon cream and raspberry cake.

Here is the link to the rice pilaf, which I posted before.

Herb Roasted Cornish Game Hens

3 cornish game hens, thawed, rinsed and patted dry

1/4 cup butter, softened

1 T. minced fresh sage

1 T. minced fresh thyme

1 T. minced fresh rosemary

1/2 t. freshly ground pepper

1 t. kosher salt

2 T. olive oil

Preheat the oven to 450. Mix the butter and herbs together in a small bowel. Carefully separate the skin from the breasts of the hens and spoon in 1/3 of the butter mixture into that space into each one, spreading it out evenly. Place the hens on a rack in a shallow roasting pan and drizzle with the olive oil. Sprinkle with kosher salt and a few generous grinds of pepper. Roast at 450 degrees for 20 minutes, then reduce the heat to 350 and bake for an additional 40 minutes or until an instant read thermometer reads 170 when inserted into the thickest part of the chicken. Baste 2-3 times with the pan drippings during cooking. Remove to a platter and allow to rest for about 10 minutes, then use kitchen shears to cut each hen in half down the middle. Serves 6.

Parmesan Phyllo Asparagus Bundles

1 bundle of asparagus, rinsed, dried and ends snapped off

1 roll of frozen phyllo dough (package usually contains 2 rolls), thawed

1/2 cup parmesan cheese

1/2 stick of butter

kosher salt

freshly ground pepper

Preheat the oven to 375. Carefully unroll the phyllo, remove one sheet, then cover the remaining stack with a damp paper towel and plastic wrap. Cut phyllo sheet in half lengthwise and brush each strip with butter. Sprinkle parmesan cheese down the length of it, as well as a dash of salt and a few grinds of pepper. Lay three fat or four skinny stalks of asparagus at one end of a strip and roll up. Place seam side down on an ungreased baking sheet. Repeat until you run out of asparagus. Drizzle any leftover butter over the rolls on the baking sheet. Bake for 12-15 minutes or until the phyllo is golden and crispy and the asparagus is tender. Serve immediately.

Raspberry and Lemon Cream Cake

1 white cake mix, prepared according to package directions

2/3 cup lemon curd, divided

2 cups heavy whipping cream

1 cup powdered sugar

seedless raspberry jam or pie filling

Bake white cake according to package directions and allow to cool. I used a Wilton heart pan, and one mix fit in it. Slice a thin layer off the top, just enough to flatten it. Spread a thin layer of lemon curd over the cut surface, about 1/4 of a cup. Beat the cream until semi-stiff peaks form, then beat in the powdered sugar and lemon curd. Frost sides and top of cake, reserving some to pipe a border. Pipe or spoon raspberry filling on top, then pipe additional cream around the edges.

Carrot Basmati Rice Pilaf

This is a simple recipe that pairs well with a variety of main dishes. Tonight I served it with grilled kabobs composed of red pepper, zucchini, mushrooms and chicken, marinated in Italian salad dressing. My kids really like it, especially the pine nuts. Enjoy~

1 tablespoon olive oil
¼ cup finely chopped shallots
2 tablespoons pine nuts
1 cup uncooked basmati rice
2-3 carrots, grated
3 t. finely grated orange zest
¼ t. ground cardamom
1/8 t. crushed red pepper
2 ¼ cups chicken broth, heated
½ t. honey
1/8 t. salt

In large saucepan, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add shallots and pine nuts and cook 4-6 minutes. Add rice, carrots, orange zest, cardamom, and crushed red pepper and cook 2 more minutes, stirring frequently. Add warm chicken broth, honey and salt. Cover pan tightly and simmer for 12-15 minutes, until liquid is absorbed. I have also added ¼ cup golden raisins with the broth with excellent results, and have substituted chopped pecans when I was out of pine nuts.