Boursin Stuffed Chicken Breasts With Raspberry Sauce

Doesn't this sound romantic? I had this elegant sounding recipe in my collection for years, clipped from a magazine. This is the perfect thing for an elegant, romantic dinner especially for Valentine's Day. Note: If you can't find boursin cheese in the store, you can use a homemade version - there are several recipes for this cheese right here on Recipezaar or Alouette Garlic & Herb cheese also works. I prefer baby spinach leaves, in which case you will need several per piece of chicken, enough to cover the top of each breast. I used Wishbone Red Wine & Olive Oil Vinaigrette in this.

• Ready In: 1 hr
• Serves: 4

Ingredients

• 4  boneless skinless chicken breast halves (pounded flat to 1/4-inch thickness with a mallet)
• 1 (4 ounce) package boursin cheese, with herbs, cut into 4 chunks
• 1⁄2 cup walnuts, very finely chopped (approximately)
• 4  leaves fresh spinach (or several leaves of baby spinach)
• 1⁄2 teaspoon salt, to taste
• 1⁄2 teaspoon pepper, to taste
• 1⁄2 cup dry white wine
• 1⁄4 cup  red wine and vinegar salad dressing (homemade or purchased)
• 1⁄4 cup  seedless raspberry jam
•  fresh raspberry, garnish (optional)
•  fresh herb, garnish (optional)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 F and have a baking pan greased and ready to go.
2. If you haven't already pounded your chicken breast halves, do so now- they need to be 1/4" thin.
3. Bring a small saucepan of water to a boil.
4. Using tongs, briefly dip spinach leaves one at a time into the boiling water to blanch- just a few seconds each leaf or they will get soggy- they should still be mostly raw.
5. Pat dry and set aside on a plate.
6. Pour finely chopped nuts into a small bowl and roll each chunk of boursin cheese in the nuts to coat and set aside (discard extra nuts that don't stick to cheese).
7. Lay pounded chicken breasts on top of a sheet of wax paper on your counter and season both sides of each breast half with some of the salt& pepper (to taste).
8. Set 1 well dried blanched spinach leaf on top of each piece of chicken, trimming with kitchen shears if needed so the spinach doesn't extend over the edge of the chicken piece.
9. Next,place a nut coated cheese chunk on top of each chicken piece in the center.
10. Fold chicken ends up over the cheese to make a bundle, securing with toothpicks if needed.
11. Set chicken rolls in a greased baking pan and cover with foil (season with more salt& pepper to taste).
12. Bake in a preheated 350F oven for 30 minutes or until chicken is tender and cooked all the way through.
13. Meanwhile,combine wine,dressing,and jam in a small skillet.
14. Cook over medium-high heat until reduced by half (this may take several minutes- be patient and don't be tempted to raise the heat to quicken the process).
15. If the sauce is ready before the chicken, simply remove from burner and reheat slightly before pouring over the cooked chicken.
16. If you like, decorate each plate with a garnish of fresh rasperries and a few sprigs of fresh green herbs (optional step).
17. Remove cooked cooked chicken to serving plates,with raspberry sauce ladled over the top (removing toothpicks before serving) and garnished if desired.