Dining Detour

I hosted my first dinner party at my new apartment last week. My brother and Kate came over and we sat at a real table and felt like grown ups. I am sure all of you apt dwellers can relate. There is just something about serving a three-course dinner to your friends, who are sitting on your couch, hovering over a coffee table that makes you feel like you are back in college. It is so nice to finally have enough space for a table and four chairs, and to be able to eat like civilized adults.

While deciding what to make, I remembered that about a month ago (or maybe more, I can never keep track of time especially during the summer) Tamar and Josh had us over to their new place for dinner. They made mushroom and spinach stuffed chicken and it was totally delish. It was also the perfect thing to serve for a dinner party. You can pretty much have it all ready to go and just pop it in the oven while your guests/friends are eating apps. Their recipe with a photo is at the end of this post.

So, that brings us back to our little dinner party. We made a spinach, sun dried tomato and feta stuffed chicken in a white wine reduction.

Spinach, Sun Dried Tomato and Feta Stuffed Chicken recipe: Adaption of Tamar and Josh’s and my own

Ingredients

Stuffed Chicken

• 4 boneless chicken breasts
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 2 cloves garlic
• 1 bag of fresh spinach OR 1/2 box of frozen thawed
• 5 sun dried tomatoes sliced thin
• 3/4 cup of crumbled feta
• pinch of salt
• pinch of pepper
• 4 toothpicks

Steve’s white wine reduction

• 1 tablespoon of olive oil
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1 cup chicken OR veggies broth
• 1/2 cup white wine
• 1/4 cup lemon juice
• 1 tablespoon flour

Instructions

Heat oven to 425 degrees. Place chicken breasts between wax paper and pound thin. Set aside.

Boil 1/2 cup water in a pan. Place sun dried tomatoes in a stainless steel bowl. When water boils, pour over sun dried tomatoes and let sit for 5 minutes.

In a medium sauté pan, add  olive oil and garlic. Let the garlic simmer until just about to brown, add the spinach. If using fresh, cook for about 3 minutes or until it wilts. If using frozen spinach, cook about 5 minutes.

Spread a nice layer of the spinach and garlic mixture across each chicken breast. Add sun dried tomato and top off with feta. Season with a little salt and pepper. Using your hands, roll each chicken breast and place a toothpick in to keep its shape.

Using a cast iron pan or an oven ready skillet, heat one tablespoon of olive oil over medium heat. Using your hands to retain the shape of the chicken rolls, place in pan. Let cook for about 4 minutes. This is just to brown up the bottom all nice. Then place the pan right in the hot oven. Let bake for 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, make wine reduction. Add olive oil, broth, wine and lemon juice to the pan. Simmer until the liquids reduce down, about 10 minutes. In a small dish, mix the flour and butter, then whisk into the pan to create some thickness. Simmer about 2 minutes.

Plate the chicken, and pour the sauce over the top. We served it with whole wheat couscous but you can try it with rice or on its own.

Tamar and Josh’s Spinach and Mushroom Stuffed Chicken How yummy does that look!!

Ingredients

• 4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
• handful of fresh spinach
• 12 oz white mushrooms
• 2 tbsp. olive oil
• 1 lemon
• 2 cloves garlic

Instructions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

Flatten chicken breasts by pounding between two sheets of plastic wrap (or in a ziploc bag) until thin enough to roll up.

Chop mushrooms and spinach, mix in a bowl with olive oil, crushed garlic and squeezed lemon.

Pour mixture over chicken and roll. Fasten with toothpicks or string.

Place on broiler pan. Pour extra mixture over rolled chicken.

Bake on center rack of oven for 45 minutes to an hour.

Enjoy!

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