chicken baked in Marsala wine

Mountain Dining In

Chicken stuffed with Prosciutto, ham, cheese, spinach, and baked in Marsala wine

Every Thanksgiving we prepare this dish for our kids when they come home to visit. They like it so much better than having a turkey. This is certainly a tasty dish!

When cooking in the mountains you would rather spend your time hiking, skiing, and just having outdoor fun. So we cook up two packs of boneless skinless chicken breasts to provide 12 chicken breasts, enough for three delicious dinners for a family of four. We just warm the chicken in the microwave each day, leaving time to have fun during the day.

To keep it easier and quicker to make, your spouse and/or kids can assist you by making an assembly line for the first two steps.

Ingredients (amounts are for 12 chicken breasts):

Package of fresh spinach

Taleggio cheese (if you can’t find this substitute smoked gouda or smoked fontina cheese)

1/4 lb prosciutto (sliced)

fresh boneless skinless chicken breasts (12)

Black Forest ham (about ½ lb, sliced)

toothpicks

4 eggs (well whisked for dipping)

bread crumbs (plain)

Marsala wine (Dry)

fresh Basil leaves (cut into ribbons or chopped)

Parmesan cheese (grated)

Tarragon (dried or fresh)

salt

pepper

garlic powder

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1/3 tablespoon of butter (unsalted)

This dish is super!

Step 2:

· Melt butter in the olive oil in the frying pan under medium heat. The olive oil will help prevent the butter from burning.

· Whisk the eggs in a mixing bowl.

· Combine bread crumbs salt, pepper, garlic powder, and tarragon (just a little bit of each to provide flavor), and spread mixture on a plate. Place the mixing bowl and plate next to the fry pan on your stove.

· Dip the rolled and stuffed chicken into the egg to cover the chicken with egg, lightly dredge and roll the chicken in the bread crumbs and spices, and place it in the frying pan.

· Use medium heat to brown the rolled chicken breasts on as many sides as the toothpicks will let you. Place the browned chicken breasts in a deep baking dish.

Bread crumb mixture

Setup to dip and dreg chicken

Eggs and Whisk

Preparation:

Step 1:

· Cut away the rind for the Taleggio cheese and slice it about 1/4 inch thick, one slice for each chicken breast.

· Place a fresh chicken breast on a long sheet of plastic wrap or parchment paper. Fold the plastic wrap back over it. Pound the chicken breast until about a 1/4 inch thick.

· On the flattened chicken breast place some Black Forest ham, one slice of Taleggio cheese, some Prosciutto, several spinach leaves, and some of the fresh Basil you cut into ribbons. Roll the chicken breast and hold it together with two or three toothpicks. Make sure you warn guests to remove the toothpicks before eating.

Fresh Basil

Fresh spinach

Taleggio cheese, Prosciutto, Black Forest ham, Taleggio cheese slices

Fresh chicken breast, and flattened chicken breast.

Step 3:

· Pour Marsala wine over the chicken in the deep baking dish to cover the chicken about half way.

· Sprinkle cut up fresh Basil leaves and grated Parmesan cheese over the chicken breasts. The grated Parmesan cheese provides flavor and thickens the juices as the chicken bakes.

· Cover the baking dish (use aluminum foil if you do not have a cover) and cook in the oven at 400 degrees about 30 minutes.

· For the last 10 minutes or so remove the cover and bake to further brown the chicken.