Mom's Prosciutto & Cheese Stuffed Chicken Breasts

My mom made this delicious chicken recipe for a dinner party last week and my dad sent a photo of the dish, which made me want to copycat it immediately. After getting the recipe this weekend, I couldn’t wait to make it. This evening I was not in the most wonderful mood but I knew that cooking my mom’s recipe would busy my hands and my head. And as food writer Laurie Colwin once wrote,

“No one who cooks, cooks alone. Even at her most solitary,

a cook in the kitchen is surrounded by generations of cooks past,

the advice and menus of cooks present, the wisdom of cookbook writers.”

Pre-White Sauce ©EverydayCookingAdventures 2013

It was true that making this meal made me feel a little cheered up and once I saw the cheese oozing out of the chicken and the prosciutto peaking out, a smile came over me. I used provolone cheese and chicken stock because I already had some in the fridge. Tasting the reassuring flavors of chicken, cheese, and salty meat can’t help but make anyone feel good. I served the chicken with a healthy side of steamed broccolini. What a tremendous meal and I loved feeling like my mom was right next to me in the kitchen while I made it, even though she’s a few states away. Cooking is truly a heartwarming adventure. Here’s my chicken:

Prosciutto & Cheese Stuffed Chicken ©EverydayCookingAdventures 2013

Mom’s Prosciutto & Cheese Stuffed Chicken Breasts

By: Everyday Cooking Adventures’ Mom, 2013

Serves: 2

Ingredients:

2 chicken breasts (skin-on preferable to keep in moisture)
2 slices prosciutto
2 slices white cheese (Provolone, Swiss, Gruyere etc.)
4 TBSP butter (separated in half)
salt and pepper
1/3 cup chicken broth
1/4 cup white wine
3 TBSP flour

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375ºF. Pound chicken breasts between two pieces of saran wrap to thin out a little.

2. Cut a pocket into each chicken breast, not all the way through.

3. Stuff the pocket with one slice of cheese (or some shredded cheese to form a nice layer) and one piece of prosciutto.

4. Close the chicken breast so the cheese and prosciutto are sandwiched between the top and bottom and place in roasting pan. Melt 2 TBSP butter on the stovetop in a saucepan and drizzle over the chicken breast to moisten the chicken and keep it from sticking on the pan.

5. Bake for 25-35 minutes depending on thickness of the chicken breast.

6. Meanwhile, while it’s baking, prepare a saucepan on the stovetop with the chicken broth and white wine and heat to a boil to reduce the liquid about half-way. Turn down the heat to medium-low and add in the remaining 2 TBSP butter. Slowly whisk in the flour, 1 TBSP at a time so the sauce thickens but doesn’t clump. When you remove the chicken breasts from the oven, plate them and then slowly pour the drippings into the saucepan and whisk into the sauce to add flavor. This is a basic white sauce that you will pour over the chicken breasts and serve immediately.