Chicken Stuffed with Roasted Red Pepper and Basil

Oh my. This chicken was a winner. I made this for our guests on New Year's Eve and it was a hit. 


The chicken was tender (I may have pounded out my frustrations of 2010 on it), the red peppers, basil and asiago were a perfect combination and the sauce, oh, the sauce, was amazing and really, the icing on the cake.


When we're having company over, I really love a make-ahead dish so I can spend time with them when they come over and I am not relegated to kitchen. This one I could do 85% in advance (i.e. stuffing the chicken), but I did have to be a little more attentive while cooking it as it's cooked on the stovetop. Next time, I probably wouldn't have had a salad course (which I couldn't enjoy as I was monitoring the chicken), and just do a traditional appetizer people can enjoy until dinner is served. 

Chicken Stuffed with Roasted Red Pepper and Basil
Serves 6
Printable Recipe

Ingredients

• 6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• 2 medium red peppers, roasted and skins removed, cut into thirds
• 20-24 fresh medium-large basil leaves
• 1 cup asiago cheese, shredded
• 1/2 tsp salt and pepper
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 onion, diced
• 1/2 cup white wine OR 1/2 cup chicken stock
• 1 1/2 cups whipping cream

Directions

• Cut chicken breasts in half lengthwise, being sure to leave a hinge. Pound to flatten slightly. 
• Open and sprinkle each breast with salt and pepper. Inside, evenly divide the red peppers, basil and shredded cheese. Fold breasts over using toothpicks to close them.
• In a large skillet, heat half the oil and cook chicken for seven minutes on each side until no longer pink. Remove to plate and set aside.
• In the same skillet, add remaining oil to pan, add onions and cook. Stir in wine for three minutes. Add the cream, salt and pepper. Simmer for five minutes until thickened.
• Return chicken to pan and cook for five more minutes until heated through.
• Serve breasts and top with wine sauce. Garnish with parsley if desired. 

Summer Garden Pasta

I was recently given a gift certificate for Indigo and I knew exactly what I wanted to buy -- a cookbook by Ina Garten, the Barefoot Contessa. For years, I have enjoyed watching her on the Food Network for her simple, classic recipes and she always just looks so happy cooking! Though I guess if I had her kitchen in the Hamptons, I might too!

Anyway, so I just got two of her books in the mail and they are beautiful. Nice glossy pages with beautiful photos and I was immediately inspired to make three dishes of hers and they were all easy and full of flavour.

The first I made was the summer garden pasta. Angel hair pasta topped with a simple mixture of cherry tomatoes, olive oil, fresh basil and garlic. You had to marinade the sauce for a few hours before so all the flavours infused together and it smelled like nothing else. I couldn't wait to eat this one!

Ingredients
Adapted from The Barefoot Contessa at Home

• fresh angel hair pasta (make your own using this recipe)
• 2 pints cherry tomatoes, halved
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 4 cloves freshly minced garlic
• 10 leaves fresh basil, chiffonaded
• 1 cup grated fresh parmesan
• salt and pepper to taste

Directions

• In a bowl, combine cherry tomatoes, olive oil, garlic, basil and salt and pepper. Toss and let sit for about four hours.
• Bring large pot of salted water to a boil and cook pasta. Drain.
• Put tomato mixure in a large pan and warm. Add in pasta and toss, fully coating pasta. Add parmesan and stir, letting it melt throughout.
• Serve warm with more parmesan and basil for presentation.

Orzo with Parmesan and Basil

This simple dish is a cross between risotto and macaroni and cheese. It was a super easy weeknight meal and you could enjoy it like we did as a main, but it would also be great as a side dish. This is also one of those great flexible dishes where you can really just add anything you want. For example, I didn't have enough parmesan, so I tossed in some herb and garlic cream cheese. I love those dishes where anything goes!

Ingredients

• 2 tbsp butter
• 1 cup uncooked orzo pasta
• 1 1/2 cups chicken broth
• 1/2 cup parmesan cheese
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh basil
• salt and pepper to taste

Directions

• Melt butter in a heavy skillet over medium-high heat 
• Stir in orzo pasta and saute until lightly browned
• Stir in chicken stock and bring to a boil
• Reduce heat and simmer until orzo is tender and liquid is absorbed, about 15-20 minutes
• Mix in parmesan cheese and basil
• Season with salt and pepper to taste

Recipe from www.allrecipes.com

Download the printable recipe for Orzo with Parmesan and Basil

Double Tomato Bruschetta

Bruschetta are often a bad idea at parties. They can be messy and difficult to eat with in front of people, but I made these for my family for Mother's Day and they were devoured so I think they might be worth it. 

For me, the trick to a good bruschetta is the bread. When the bread is too toasted, that's when it gets difficult to eat. So these ones I worked to not over toast and I think I found the perfect balance to toasty by still soft to easily bite into without it crumbling apart. 

I also used only fresh ingredients for the topping and I think it made all the difference. Our local fruit market sells these huge bags of fresh basil for $1.99 and it really was much better than using dried. This is certainly a keeper!

Ingredients

• 6 tomatoes (most recipes recommend Roma tomatoes because they are less juicy inside, but I used regular tomatoes because they were redder and I simply scooped out the seeds and juices)
• 1/2 cup sundried tomatoes, diced
• 3 cloves minced garlic
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
• 1/4 fresh basil, chopped
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp pepper
• french baguette
• 2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese

Directions 

Prep all the ingredients -- dice fresh and sundried tomatoes, garlic and basil.

(I scooped out all the middle of the tomato because you don't want all that extra liquid)

Mix tomatoes, garlic, oil, vinegar, oil, basil and salt and pepper together. Let rest for 15 minutes while flavours blend together.

(this smells amazing!)

Set your oven to broil.

Slice the french stick into 1/4 inch slices. The bigger the angle you cut them on, the bigger the piece will be. (I used one and a half french sticks to get 20 slices, which was the perfect amount for the topping).

Paint each piece of bread with oil on one side and lay flat, oil side up, on a baking sheet and broil for two minutes until getting very lightly toasted.

Remove from oven and top each piece with the tomato mixture and then some mozzarella cheese and put back in oven (still on broil) for five minutes until cheese is melted and bread is toasted but still soft.

Remove from oven and place on platter and serve to a hungry crowd (who are already armed with side plates and napkins!)

Download a printable version of Double Tomato Bruschetta