Prosciutto Wrapped Florentine Stuffed Chicken with Beurre Blanc Sauce

Okay, it was finally time to add some interest into our boring menus at home. Here is a new recipe I tried from Rachel Ray - and even though every time I try prosciutto, I end up not liking it, I thought I'd give it another go. The Husband likes it, anyway - and this time I made sure to get Boar's Head brand so that it was the best Kroger could offer, too.

This recipe turned out great - again I don't like prosciutto so I would not wrap my portion with it in the future, but the stuffing for the chicken breast is awesome! Very very tasty and it really dresses up a boring chicken breast - and you get some extra veggies in there, too. I loved the pine nuts and the prosciutto did crisp up in the oven.

Since we went to a fancy dinner in Chicago, I've been wondering about a beurre blanc sauce. I looked it up and found it was a standard rich buttery French white wine sauce and it sounded fun and delish to try. I ended up using an Alton Brown recipe since he's one of my favorite recipe sources - he seems to really know his stuff. The sauce turned out excellent, very rich and the white wine lent a subtle note but it matched the shallots perfectly. It was a nice accompaniment to the chicken, though the chicken would be fine on its own.

Prosciutto Wrapped Florentine Stuffed Chicken

From Rachel Ray - Food Network

1 box frozen spinach, defrosted
3 tablespoons pine nuts
1/2 cup ricotta cheese
1/4 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano
2 cloves garlic, grated or finely chopped
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
A few grates nutmeg
6 chicken breasts
6 slices prosciutto di Parma, 1/3 pound
3 to 4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

Wring out defrosted spinach in clean kitchen towel.

Toast nuts and combine with spinach in a bowl, mix in cheeses, garlic, salt, pepper and nutmeg.

Cut into and across but not all the way through the chicken breasts, opening them up like a book with a sharp knife. Season the chicken with salt and pepper. Fill each with a small mound of stuffing. Flap chicken breasts back over stuffing and wrap each breast with prosciutto to seal them, carefully covering the whole breast. Brush chicken all over with some extra-virgin olive oil and roast 18 to 20 minutes until cooked through.

Raymond Beurre Blanc Sauce

From Alton Brown - Food Network

1 to 2 shallots, chopped fine
8 ounces white wine
2 ounces lemon juice
1 tablespoon heavy cream
12 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cubed
Salt and white pepper, to taste

Combine the shallots, white wine, and lemon juice in a non-reactive saucepan over high heat and reduce to 2 tablespoons.

Add the cream to the reduction. Once the liquid bubbles, reduce the heat to low. Add the butter, one cube at a time, whisking first on the heat and then off the heat. Continue whisking butter into the reduction until the mixture is fully emulsified and has reached a rich sauce consistency.

Season with salt and white pepper. Store beurre blanc in a thermos until ready to serve.