Wednesday, June 27, 2007

Buca di Beppo's Chicken Saltimbocca

The name "saltimbocca" means "jump into the mouth" - because a dish this delicious (pounded with Prosciutto and massaged with sage) gets eaten so quickly that it seems to leap from the plate right into mouth.

4 (5 ounce) chicken breasts
4 thin slices Prosciutto ham
1 tablespoon fresh sage
3 ounces olive oil
1 ounce all-purpose flour
5 ounces artichoke hearts, quartered
1/2 ounce capers
4 ounces white wine
2 ounces fresh lemon juice
2 ounces heavy cream
1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon salt

Lightly salt chicken breasts. Sprinkle evenly with chopped sage. Place sliced Prosciutto on top the chicken and pound it into the breast until the thickness of the chicken measures 3/8-inch.

Meanwhile, heat olive oil in a saute pan. Lightly flour chicken pressed with prosciutto. Place in heated oil, Prosciutto side down. Brown one side, turn and brown the other side. Drain off excess oil, and deglaze with 4 ounces of white wine. Add artichokes, fresh lemon juice, cream and butter and cook until sauce is thickened.

On a large platter, place chicken breasts topped with reduced sauce and garnish with capers.

Serves 4.

Sunday, June 17, 2007

Cheesy Asparagus

1 pound asparagus, ends trimmed
8 tablespoons butter, room temperature
1 cup (packed) grated Parmesan cheese
1 tablespoon chopped fresh basil or 1 teaspoon dried
1 large garlic clove, chopped
1 1/2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice


Cook asparagus in large pot of boiling salted water until just crisp-tender, about 3 minutes. Drain well. Arrange asparagus on broilerproof platter. Preheat broiler. Beat butter in medium bowl until fluffy. Beat in cheese, basil, garlic and lemon juice. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Drop butter mixture by teaspoonfuls over asparagus.
Extra cheese can be added if you love cheese.
Broil asparagus until topping browns, watching closely to avoid burning, about 3 minutes. Serve hot.

Tuesday, June 12, 2007

Kristen's Fantastic Fudge

Kristen sent me this a while ago and I will lose the recipe if I don't put it somewhere- so what better place than the recipe blog!?

It doesn't get much easier than this: creamy evaporated milk with lots of chocolate!
Foolproof Fudge
3 (6-ounce) packages or 3 cups NESTLÉ TOLL HOUSE Semi-Sweet Chocolate Morsels
1 1/2 cups chopped nuts (Optional)
1 cup butter or margarine
2 tablespoons vanilla extract
4 1/2 cups granulated sugar
1 (12-ounce) can NESTLÉ® CARNATION® Evaporated Milk
Combine chocolate chips, nuts, butter and vanilla in a large bowl; set aside.
In a large heavy saucepan over medium heat, bring sugar and evaporated milk to a boil, stirring constantly. Continue stirring while it boils for 8 minutes.
Pour milk mixture over chocolate mixture and stir to blend. Beat with an electric mixer approximately 2 minutes or until smooth and creamy.
Pour into a greased 13 x 9 x 2-inch pan. Allow to cool before cutting. - I line my 9x13 with foil and rub butter on it…that way you can lift it out of the pan quite easily and cut in small squares
Makes 24 pieces.