Lip Smacking Chicken Pillows

Rita~'s Note:

The presentation and taste is that of a Very Fine Restaurant. Pamper your loved ones with these elegant pillows filled with flavor making them fit for a romantic Valentines evening. Served over a bed of fresh spinach or rice. Don't forget to remove the string or toothpicks.

• Total Time: 45 mins
• Prep Time: 25 mins
• Cook Time: 20 mins

Ingredients:

Servings: 5

• 1 ½ lbs chicken breasts , 5 cutlets sliced thin
• salt , to taste
• pepper , to taste
• dried basil , to taste
• 1⁄8;-¼ teaspoon cayenne , to taste

Filling

• ¼ cup pine nuts , toasted and divided in half (optional)
• 15 baby spinach leaves , washed and dried
• 5 tablespoons sun-dried tomatoes packed in oil
• 1 ½ ounces asiago cheese , cut into 5 strips

Coating

• 1 cup flour
• 1 egg , whisked

Frying

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 tablespoon butter

Sauce

• 2 garlic cloves , minced
• 1⁄3; cup white wine
• 1 cup chicken stock

Garnish

• fresh basil
• fresh parsley

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 325°F.
2. Place one chicken breast cutlets between two pieces of clear plastic wrap; working from the center to the edges, pound the chicken lightly with a meat mallet, forming a rectangle about 1/4 inch thick; remove the plastic wrap.
3. Place all cutlets in a single layer on a work surface. Season both sides with salt, pepper, basil and cayenne.
4. Evenly distribute 1/2 the pine nuts (reserving 1/2 for garnish) on the cutlets, top with tomatoes, cheese and spinach leaves.
5. Roll up the chicken securing them up with string or tooth picks into bundles. Repeat with remaining chicken.
6. Coat each bundle with flour then dip into egg then back into flour.
7. Whisk the remaining flour (about 1-2 tablespoons) into 1/4 cup of the chicken stock and set aside.
8. In a large hot skillet cook chicken bundles in butter and oil 5-10 minutes turning until golden brown, adding additional butter if needed. Remove chicken and place in warm oven.
9. Place garlic in pan and saute for 2 minutes. Add 1/3 cup white wine to the garlic to deglaze the pan. Add chicken stock and the flour/stock mixture. Whisk till smooth and thicken if to thick add additional stock. Simmering for 5 minutes.
10. Remove chicken from oven top with sauce and garnish with pine nuts and fresh basil.

Reviews

[Vino p.o. prn]

Excellent..excellent..excellent.. but I made some changes. I was pressed for time and I quickly rolled up the chicken pillows (omitted flour coating), tied with kitchen string and baked them in a 350 degree oven for about 25 minutes. Served with saffron rice. They were so tasty and had a really nice presentation. Looking forward to making it in a pan with the sauce next time!! Thanks so much!

[Bergy]

5 starsThis is an exceptional recipe! I would rate it more than 5 stars if I could. The garlic wine sauce is just right as the finishing touch. It is easy to put together and is impressive to serve. I cut the recipe back to 2 pillows. The spinach leaves are just a bit of window dressing but do add a touch of color when you cut into the roll., Lovely combination of flavors that blend together nicely - Thanks whom ever you are for creating this unique recipe

[Linda's Busy Kitchen]

4 Stars please - I made these as written using jarred garlic and dried parsley and basil. When I was dipping the chicken into the egg there wasn't enough, so I had to add another egg to do the last piece of chicken. Also, there was about 1/4 c. flour left over, so next time I would probably use 3/4 c. Why waste it? I fried the chicken bundles for about 10 mins. then put them in the oven. It didn't tell me how long to put them in there for, so they finished cooking in about 15 mins. When I made the sauce it was thickened into a paste in about 2 mins. so I added more chicken stock. By the time the chicken was done it was thick again so I had to add more stock in again. The sauce was more like a gravy than a sauce. I might try using only 1 T. flour next time or add some cream to it. I loved the flavor of the sun-dried tomatoes, spinach and cheese, but I really couldn't taste the pinenuts. I might leave them out next time, as why use them if you can't taste them? All in all a great dish, that just needs a little tweaking to be an awesome dish. Good luck with the contest! Made for RSC #11 Linda