Tuscany Stuffed Chicken Breasts
Everytime I decide to try stuffing chicken breasts I end up cursing myself, "WHY WHY WHY did I feel the need to torture myself with this recipe??" Stuffed chicken breasts are finicky and annoying. But sometimes, the end result turns out to be well worth the effort.
In the recipe book I found this in, the picture was amazing. The cheese was oozing out from the center of the nicely browned and perfectly rolled chicken breast. The recipe didn't even call for string or skewers or duct tape to hold it together while cooking, just "roll and pinch the edges to seal" (YEAH RIGHT!!). I had to tie each of my chicken breasts up with about 18 feet of string, they looked like little chicken breast mummies, and STILL most of my cheese leeked out into the wine I was trying to poach them in (made the sauce taste real good though).
I think part of my problem may be in the hammering/pounding of the chicken breasts, maybe I go a little overboard with the meat mallet. All I know is when I'm done I do not end up with a nice thin INTACT piece of chicken breast to neatly roll around a filling of my choice, but rather a pulverized, holey mess of chicken that I have to patchwork together around my filling and plug holes and try to tie up with my greasy chickeny gross slippery hands.... grrrr. At one point, when Mario heard me huffing and puffing he came over to ask if I needed some help and he came REALLY close to getting a pulverized chicken breast right between the eyes!
Then, I purposely left the sage out of one of the chicken breasts from hell for the kids, but got them mixed them up and gave the sageless one to Mario by mistake. To top it all off, my kids declared them "yucky" and, I officially lost my mind.... "yeah? yeah? well if you don't eat that, I'm not gonna be your friend anymore!!"
Did I mention this recipe tasted really good?
Tuscany Stuffed Chicken Breasts
from the New Dieters Cookbook from Better Homes and Gardens
4 skinless boneless chicken breasts
2 oz fontina cheese (in four slices)
1/2 cup roasted red peppers cut into strips
12 fresh sage leaves
1/4 cup flour
1 tbsp olive oil
2 cups dry white wine
1. Place each chicken breast between two pieces of plastic wrap and pound to 1/4" thickness.
2. Remove plastic wrap add a slice of cheese, red pepper, sage. Fold in sides (if can find sides) and roll up (good luck with that). Don't feel bad if you have to resort to string to keep this sorry mess intact.
3. Repeat with remaining breasts (tee hee, I said "breasts").
4. Roll in flour, and cook in olive oil over medium heat until brown on all sides (about 5 minutes). Remove from pan.
5. Add wine and bring to a boil, let reduce slightly. Add chicken back to pan, cover and poach until chicken is cooked through (about 8-10 more minutes).
6. Remove chicken again, and turn heat up. Reduce sauce until about 1/2 cup remains.
7. Serve chicken with a little sauce drizled over top (don't forget to remove the string!)
14 comments:
Janet, it looks really good. I'm impressed at how moist the chicken looks.
Good looking dish Janet and you picked a good cheese (fontina) for a filling. Other cheeses melt away or vanish!
Love everything about this dish Janet! Too bad the kids thought it was "yucky". Things will change. My daughter is now 20 and at her third year of university in Foods & Sciences to be a nutritionist. Go figure!!! This was the kid who peeled skin from hot dogs and declared sandwiches to be made by the devil.
Janet,
They look great to me! I bought a set of these a couple of months ago and love them. A litte pricey but they make tying up food super easy. http://thefoodloop.com/
I have to say you have one of the BEST food blogs going! I check yours almost everyday and I'm amazed at how great you keep it updated. THANKS!
Steve
Boy can I relate, Janet! I made spinach and mushroom stuffed chicken breasts on Sunday and I had the same issue. I pounded a little to thin and some of the chicken broke down too much and I got the same holes. I can nevermake it look as good as the Chef's do on tv. That said - your's looks great! I love new ways to make chicken more interesting :)
Hehe at least you are brave enough to try it. I'm not.
Sounds good to me though!
Alton's show on exactly this was on last night. Sounds like you are doing all the right things with the pounding, but have you tried refrigerating the breasts for a few hours before cooking? Alton says that keeps them together without string, etc.
I think they are so worth the effort, Janet - look how delicious this dish looks, yummy!
It's a chicken, Janet. Breathe. It's just a chicken.
Steve's right, they do look great, and the idea of "Geographical stuffings" sounds like fun.
"Toulouse Chicken" could have French sausage and beans as a filling!
I do love reading about what you're up to. The passion is always there.
This certainly looks good. I have the same problem every time I try to stuff a chicken breast or a pork chop. The cheese ends up melting and oozing out. The slightly charred mess of cheese in the pan still tastes great though. :)
I'm so glad to hear others have trouble too! All stuffed chicken breasts recipes sound so good to me, and I've yet to make one that looked anywhere near as pretty as the pictures.
I agree, stuffed chicken can be a pain to prepare. This recipe looks like it's worth it though...that picture looks so delicious! Can't wait to try it myself.
I made this on Monday night for dinner. It came out soooo good! I didn't have any wine around so I substituted chicken stock, but it still had a really nice flavor. My family really enjoyed! The fresh sage flavor was a nice touch!
I watched a program on TV where they made Chicken Kiev and the secret to not having all the stuffing leak out was to refrigerate the chicken breasts for about 1 hour after they have all the good stuff rolled up inside. They said this helps the edges to seal together. Thought you might try that and see if it works for you. Love your blog!
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