Chicken Canzanese-yum!

Here is a another yummy meal with the help of America's Test Kitchen.  It is from their Italian classics and it is a delicious variation from boring chicken.    It calls for chicken thighs which will remain juicy after the cooking, but I might try chicken breasts next time.  The prosciutto is salty.  So, there is no need to salt the chicken.  Here is a helpful hint.  A pan removed from the oven and place on the stove will have a very hot handle.  I tested it and I should know.  So, immediately after you pull the skillet from the oven, wrap a towel around the handle or place a handle cover on it.  This is a very rich dinner, so serve it with something with a mild flavor.  I served it with parmesan polenta and parmesan toast.

Chicken Canzanese

1 T olive oil (divided)
2 oz prosciutto (1/4 inch thick) cut into 1/4 inch cubes (can use thick cut bacon
4 medium garlic cloves, sliced thin lengthwise
8 bone in, skin-on chicken thighs, trimmed of excess fat and skin
ground black pepper
2 tsp flour
2 c dry white wine
1 c low sodium chicken broth
4 whole cloves
1 (4 inch) sprig of fresh rosemary, leaves removed and minced fine (about 1/2 tsp), stem reserved
12 whole fresh sage leaves
2 bay leaves
1/4 or 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
1 T juice from 1 lemon
2 T unsalted butter
salt if needed

Heat oven to 325 degrees.  Heat 1 tsp oil in 12 inch ovensafe skillet over medium heat. Add prosciutto and cook, stirring frequently, until just starting to brown, about 3 minutes.  Add garlic slices and cook, stirring frequently until brown,  be careful not to burn it.  Remove garlic and prosciutto and reserve.  Do not rinse pan.

Increase heat to medium high.  Add remaining 2 tsp of oil and heat.  Pat chicken dry with paper towels and season with ground black pepper.  Add chicken, skin side down and cook with out moving until well browned, 5-8 minutes.  Turn the chicken and brown the other side.  Transfer chicken to large plate.

Remove all but 2 T fat from the pan.  Sprinkle flour over fat and cook, stirring constantly for 1 minutes.  Slowly add wine and broth, bring to simmer, scraping bottom of pan to loosen brown bits.  Cook until liquid is slightly reduced, about 3 minutes.  Stir in cloves, rosemary stem, sage leaves, bay leaves, red pepper flakes and reserved prosciutto and garlic.  Nestle chicken into liquid, skin side up (skin should be above surface of liquid) and bake, uncovered until meat offers no resistance when poked with fork but is not falling off bones.  about 1 hour 15 minutes. (check chicken after 15 minutes, broth should be barely bubbling .  If bubbling vigorously, reduce oven temp to 300 degrees).

Remove from oven and transfer chicken to serving platter and tent with foil.  Remove and discard sage leaves, rosemary stem, cloves, and bay leaves.  Place skillet over high heat and bring sauce to boil. Cook until sauce is reduce to 1 1/4 c. 2-5 minutes  Off heat, stir in minced rosemary, lemon juice and butter.  Season to taste with salt and pepper pour sauce around chicken and serve.

Chicken Saltimbocca Roll-Ups with Mushroom and White Bean Ragout

Here are two recipes that got thumbs up from Philly.  Again, they are from "Rachael Ray 365 No Repeats" from 2005.   I didn't have prosciutto on hand and used bacon.  It added great flavor, but was not brown like normal bacon.  I had it in the oven for quite some time to make sure it was done.  Now the beans....when they were done, they were not pretty.  It was a tan boring looking side dish.  What a surprise!  They were really good!  Super easy with many ingredients you have in your pantry.  She used crimini mushrooms, but I had canned mushrooms on hand.


Turkey Saltimbocca Roll-Ups

12 chicken cutlets
6 slices of prosciutto, cut in half
12 whole fresh sage leaves + 2 T finely chopped sage
4 T extra-virgin olive oil + more for drizzle
Salt and pepper
2 tsp poultry seasoning or other  
toothpicks
1 1/2 c. chicken stock
2 T unsalted butter
2 T flour

Heat oven to 400 degrees.  Using a meat mallet, pound the cutlets into 1/8 inch thickness.  Top each cutlet with a half slice of prosciutto and a whole sage leaf.  Roll up and secure with a toothpick.  Drizzle with olive oil.  Season with salt, pepper and poultry seasoning (or other seasoning).  Heat a nonstick skillet over medium high heat.  Add 1 T olive oil.  Place roll-ups seam side down and brown each side.  After browning, place in an oven safe dish, covered.  Bake for at least a half hour to make sure chicken and prosciutto are both done. 

Add butter to pan and reduce the heat to medium low.  Whisk in the flour.  whisk in the wine and cook it for about 30 seconds.  Whisk in the chicken stock. to make a gravy.  Add the chopped sage and season with salt and pepper.  Remove the roll-ups from the oven and add to the pan.

If you are making the chicken above, you can make the side dish while the chicken bakes.

Mushroom and White Bean Ragout

1/2 c. chicken stock
4 garlic cloves, chopped
1/4 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
1 can sliced mushrooms, rinsed
1 15 oz can cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
2 T wine vinegar, white or red

Heat a skillet over medium high heat.  Add 2 T. olive oil.  Add the red pepper flakes and mushrooms.  Cook for 5 minutes to brown and cook through.  Add the garlic,  stirring as not to burn.  Stir in the beans and season with salt and pepper.  After the beans heat through, add the vinegar and stir, add 1.2 c. chicken stock to deglaze the pan.