Carol's Encore Chicken

I first tasted this Italian inspired chicken dish in a fine dining restaurant in Cincinnati. It became my favorite meal of that establishment, until the shocking day the master chef/owner sold his restaurant and the new owner revamped the menu, eliminating the culinary masterpiece. I was obsessed to figure out the recipe, which I did with great success! You will go nuts over this incredible, succulent meal, for which you will be yelling, "Encore," which in Italian means "more!"

INGREDIENTS

4-skinless boneless chicken breasts, sliced into ½ thickness (8 pieces)

Olive oil

Provolone cheese, sliced

Roasted red peppers  (in the jar)

Prosciutto

½ box orzo

1 shallot, diced

3-4 cloves garlic, minced

1 jar alfredo sauce

1-14.5oz can tomato bits or diced tomatoes

½ C. frozen peas

¾ C. sherry

1 can beef consommé

2T. cornstarch in 1/3 C. water (slurry)

¼ C. blue cheese, crumbled

Salt and pepper

INSTRUCTIONS
Preheat oven to 350⁰ F.

For orzo, bring saucepan of water to a boil and add salt. Stir in orzo and boil 7-8 min.

In the meantime, season chicken on one side with salt and pepper. On a foil lined cookie sheet, assemble 8 individual layers of provolone, red pepper and prosciutto, keeping ingredients in a uniform size with the chicken breasts. Place skillet on stove over medium heat. Drizzle skillet with 3T. olive oil and fry chicken breasts 4 minutes on one side, then turn over for one additional minute. (Chicken will not be fully cooked.) Place chicken pieces on top of the prepared layers on cookie sheet. Invert the layers. Bake the chicken layers in the oven for 5-8 minutes, until chicken is cooked through.

While chicken is baking, drain orzo and set aside. Using the empty saucepan, sauté garlic and shallot in 1 T. olive oil on medium-low heat until soft (4min.). Add orzo back into the saucepan. Stir in alfredo sauce, tomato bits and peas. Cover and keep on low heat.

Deglaze empty chicken skillet with ¾ C. sherry, stirring up chicken drippings. Add 1 can beef consommé and cornstarch slurry. Bring to a boil and add blue cheese. Turn off heat.

To serve, spread a puddle of consommé in the middle of a plate. Place 1 large spoonful of orzo in the center of the consommé and top with the chicken layers.

Serves 8.