Stuffed Chicken Siena

I haven't written in a long time! I know, I know. It's because my camera broke and I figured if I couldn't show pictures, who would believe I made it. Anyway, I'm going to post a bunch of recipes I managed to get images of...just know I cooked a LOT more over the last few months.

How it's supposed to look:



How mine looks:

Stuffed Chicken Siena

Prep Time:	30 minutes
Cook Time:	30 minutes
Serving Size:	4 8 12

Ingredients
CHEESE FILLING/CHICKEN:
½ cup mozzarella, shredded
2 Tbsp Parmesan, grated
½ cup smoked Gouda, chopped
¼ cup Fontina cheese, shredded
¼ cup sun-dried tomatoes, chopped
1/4 tsp black ground pepper
1 Tbsp green onions, chopped
1 tsp garlic, minced
2 Tbsp fresh parsley, chopped
1 egg
2 Tbsp heavy cream

CHICKEN:
4 boneless, skinless, chicken breasts (6-8 oz each), butterfly cut

FOR SIENA SAUCE/PASTA:
2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 Tbsp garlic, chopped
1/2 cup kalamata olives, pitted and chopped
1/2 cup green olives with pimiento, chopped
¼ cup small capers, rinsed
1/2 cup red wine
1 cup tomatoes, diced
29 oz can tomato puree
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
2 medium red bell peppers, cut in 1-inch pieces
1 Tbsp sugar
2 fresh sweet basil, chopped
1 lbs pasta (your choice), cooked according to package directions

Procedures
Pre-heat oven to 450ºF.

CHEESE FILLING:

1. MIX all cheese filling ingredients in a mixing bowl until well-blended. Divide into 4 portions; refrigerate until ready to use.

PREPARATION FOR CHICKEN:

1. PLACE chicken on a cutting board and split to open. Spread cheese filling evenly on both sides.
2. FOLD one side over to the other and repeat with other breasts.
3. PLACE chicken in baking pan coated with cooking spray. Bake at 450ºF for 20 minutes or until juices run clear.

SIENA SAUCE:

1. HEAT olive oil in a small sauce pot; add garlic and sauté for one minute (do not brown). Add bell peppers and sauté until al dente. Add olives and capers and stir. Add red wine and bring to a boil. Add remaining ingredients except basil.
2. BRING to a boil, reduce to low heat and simmer for approximately 30 minutes. Add basil to sauce and stir well; remove Siena sauce from heat.
3. PLACE one chicken breast and drained, cooked pasta on each plate. Evenly distribute Siena sauce over chicken and pasta. Garnish with chopped basil.

Conclusion:

I was not at all a fan of so many olives with my pasta. It was interesting, but after a few bites, I lost interest, lol. It was cool to try, lots of ingredients and steps.

Penne Senese

How it's supposed to look:


How Mines looks:

As you guys can probably tell, I am obsessed with the recipes at the Olivegarden.com. It's amazing. Its having all this great tasting food without leaving your home. I'm a huge huge fan. I tried a new recipe, just because one day I had my friend come over and I wanted to cook a good dinner for my guest. :-)

Penne Senese

Prep Time:	20 minutes
Cook Time:	30 minutes
Serving Size:	4 8 12

Ingredients
1 lb penne pasta, cooked according to package directions
2 Tbsp butter
½ cup extra virgin olive oil
½ cup yellow onions, chopped
3 cloves garlic, chopped
½ lb mushroom, sliced
6 Italian sausage links, casing removed
¼ cup + 2 Tbsp white wine
2 Tbsp all-purpose flour
1 quart heavy cream
¼ lb prosciutto ham, chopped
1 Tbsp fresh sage (or 1 tsp dry)
1 Tbsp fresh parsley (or 1 tsp dry)
½ lb grated Parmesan cheese
1 tsp garlic pepper (optional)
Salt to taste

Procedures

1. HEAT pan over medium heat. Add butter and allow to melt. Add oil, onions and garlic. Reduce heat and cook for 5 minutes. Add mushrooms and sausage. Cook until pink is no longer visible in sausage.
   
2. ADD white wine and bring to a boil. Whisk in flour and let cook for 1 minute to remove flour taste. Add remaining ingredients. Bring to a boil, lower heat and simmer for 10 minutes, or until sauce reaches desired consistency.
   
3. ADD cooked, drained pasta to pan with sauce. Toss well.
   
4. TRANSFER to large serving platter and garnish with fresh basil, sage and additional parmesan cheese, if desired.

Conclusion:
I really enjoyed this. One of the better pasta dishes I've made. The issue is there's a lot of butter and oil that goes into this. It's hard to shake the idea that you're eating fat. lol

Gnocchi with Spicy Tomato and Wine Sauce

So my camera broke. Which really sucks, because I have no pictures of what my version of the food looks like. It's close enough to the official picture that it shouldn't be too difficult.

The recipe is from the Olive Garden.


Gnocchi with Spicy Tomato and Wine Sauce

Prep Time:	15 minutes
Cook Time:	30 minutes
Serving Size:	4 8 12

Ingredients
2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
6 cloves fresh garlic
1 pinch chili flakes
1 cup dry white wine
1 cup chicken broth
2 14.5-oz cans tomatoes
1/2 stick sweet cream butter, chilled, cut into 1” cubes
1/2 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese
Salt to taste
Freshly ground black pepper to taste
2 lb gnocchi (potato dumplings), cooked according to package directions
Fresh chopped basil to taste

Procedures

1. SAUTE olive oil, garlic and chili flakes in a pan on medium heat until garlic turns a light golden brown. Add white wine and chicken broth and simmer about 10 minutes.
2. REDUCE wine and broth by half, add tomatoes and continue to simmer for 30 minutes.
3. PUREE half of the sauce in blender with butter and Parmesan cheese. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Remove sauce from blender and stir in with other half of sauce that was not pureed.
4. REMOVE gnocchi from boiling water, drain and mix with sauce.
5. SERVE gnocchi topped with Parmesan cheese and basil.

Conclusion:

This was a bit disappointing. I didn't have chili flakes so I used my chili seasoning and just wasn't good enough. It was also very watery. It was ok, but I just didn't like it.

Chicken Castellina

How it's supposed to look:

How Mines looks

So, the Olive Garden has recipes. Yup, recipes for food. I have been cooking from the website nonstop and here is the first meal I tied from there.

Chicken Castellina

Prep Time:	25 minutes
Cook Time:	25 minutes
Serving Size:	4 8 12

Ingredients
Sauce
1/4 cup pancetta (or bacon), diced
6 Tbsp butter, cubed
1 tsp garlic, chopped
¼ cup sun-dried tomatoes, diced
1 ½ cups heavy cream
1 ½ cups milk
1 oz cornstarch
¼ cup Parmesan cheese, grated
½ cup smoked Gouda cheese, chopped
1/4 tsp salt
1 Tbsp fresh rosemary, chopped
8.5 oz can sliced artichokes, drained
1/4 tsp pepper
¼ cup mushrooms, sliced
1 1/2 lbs pasta of choice, cooked according to package directions

Chicken
1 1/2 lbs skinless/boneless chicken breasts, cut in 1 - 1 ½” pieces
¾ cup flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
3 Tbsp olive oil
¼ cup white wine

Fresh parsley, chopped (for garnish)

Procedures
Sauce

1. SAUTÉ pancetta (or bacon) in a 3-qt sauce pan or large pot, over medium/high heat until crisp and golden brown. Reduce heat, add butter and allow it to melt. Add garlic and sun-dried tomatoes. Sauté for approximately one minute, stirring frequently (do not brown).
2. WHISK in cream, milk and cornstarch. Raise heat to medium/high. Whisk in Parmesan and Gouda cheeses. Once cheese melts, add remaining ingredients and bring to a boil, stirring continuously.
3. REMOVE from heat and let stand uncovered.

Chicken

1. MIX flour with salt and pepper. Coat chicken in seasoned flour, shaking off excess flour.
2. HEAT olive oil in large sauté pan. Add chicken in a single layer and cook until golden brown on both sides (approximately 7 minutes total). Juices should run clear.
3. ADD wine to chicken in pan (caution: there will be a low flame in pan). Toss gently until wine is evaporated. Add sauce and bring to a boil on medium/high heat.
4. TRANSFER drained, cooked pasta to large platter. Evenly distribute chicken and sauce over pasta.
5. GARNISH with chopped parsley and serve.

Conclusion:

I used Penne instead of bowtie, and I have the unfortunate urge to never listen to directions. They always say pour the sauce over the pasta, and I always drench the pasta in the sauce. I also cooked the pasta too long, so it was super soft and stuck together.


It was the first time I've made sauce from scratch and it was great. I took a bowl to work and my friend totally chomped away at it without my permission. That's how good.