Stuffed Chicken with Prosciutto, Fennel and Millet

Seasonal Recipe of the Week
This recipe is from The Grains Cookbook by Bert Greene. How can you wrong with a stuffed chicken? Especially if it's stuffed with millet, prosciutto, garlic and fennel. Here’s the recipe great for the fall.

Ingredients
1/4 cup hulled millet seeds
1 1/2 cups plus 2 tablespoons chicken stock
3 cloves garlic minced
4 fresh Sage leaves, chopped
1/4 pound sliced Prosciutto, coarsely chopped
1/4 teaspoon crushed fennel seeds
1 3-1/2 pound chicken, organic if possible
3 tablespoons butter
1 cup water
1 tablespoon flour

Procedure
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Place the millet in a large heavy skillet and stir over medium heat until the seeds turn golden brown — about 5 minutes. The millet will slightly pop as it browns. Remove from heat. Combine millet with 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons chicken stock. Heat till boiling, reduce heat, cover and cook over medium heat till all liquid is absorbed, about 20 minutes. Remove from heat, fluff with fork, and allow to cool. Place millet in a medium-sized bowl and add minced garlic, sage, Prosciutto and fennel seeds. Combine well and stuff in chicken then sew it closed.

Rub chicken with 2 tablespoons of the butter and place it on a rack in a roasting pan. Add water to the roasting pan and roast for 30 minutes. Pour remaining 1 cup of chicken stock over chicken, reduce oven to 350 and roast for 30 minutes more, basting occasionally with juice in pan. Place any remaining stuffing in an oven-proof dish and bake 30 minutes along, with the chicken till its done. Remove trussing from the chicken and combine two stuffings. Keep chicken and stuffing warm in oven while making gravy. In a saucepan, melt the 1 tablespoon remaining butter and stir in the flour. Now add the pan juices and whisk till smooth. Serve gravy on the side with chicken.

Chicken with Prosciutto and Guava Vinaigrette

Seasonal Recipe of the Week
Here is a great, fresh-tasting chicken dish with Prosciutto and a guava vinaigrette to add to your repertoire of chicken dishes. Can you ever have too many chicken recipes? I think not. This one is from The Nuevo Latino Cookbook by Douglas Rodriguez of Patria fame in New York. Sorry to report, this restaurant is now closed.

Ingredients
1/2 cup canned Guava nectar
1/4 cup cider vinegar
1 tablespoon honey
1 teaspoon ground Cayenne pepper
2 tablespoons olive oil
12 ounces thin sliced Prosciutto
1 1/2 pounds boneless chicken breast meat cut into 2 ounce strips
2 tablespoon olive oil
10 ounces mixed greens or Arugula to serve chicken on

Procedure
To make vinaigrette, combine guava nectar, cider vinegar, honey, Cayenne pepper, and olive oil in the blender and puree. Set aside. Next, wrap chicken strips in Prosciutto. Secure with a toothpick. Heat remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil in a sauté pan and sauté chicken on all sides till lightly browned. Now reduce heat, and continue to cook for 5 minutes more till completely cooked. Arrange fresh greens on plate, place warm chicken on top and drizzle guava vinaigrette over top. This recipe makes 4 servings.

Goat cheese, Prosciutto and herb Calzone

Seasonal Recipe of the Week
This week, I thought it would be fun to have Laurel, our guest co-host, contribute a recipe. The calzone recipe is from Chez Panise in Berkley California. I added a pizza dough recipe from Sarah Leah Chase’s Nantucket Open-House Cookbook.

Ingredients for pizza dough
1 package active dry yeast
3 cups warm water (105-115 degrees)
2 teaspoons salt
4 1/2 teaspoons good olive oil
1/4 cup rye flour
8-9 cups A.P. flour

Procedure
To make dough, sprinkle yeast in warm water in large bowl and let stand 5 minutes. Stir in salt and olive oil, then the Rye flour. By hand or in electric mixer, gradually mix in enough A.P. flour to make a stiff dough. Knead till smooth and satiny — 5 minutes in machine, 15 minutes by hand. Place dough in large, greased bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and let rise in a warm spot till doubled in size. Punch down and now you can use for Calzones or Pizza or whatever!

Ingredients for calzone filling
2 ounces goat cheese (fresh)
2 ounces Boucheron goat cheese (aged)
7 ounces Mozzarella
2 slices Prosciutto
2 tablespoons fresh chives
2 tablespoons chopped parsley
1 sprig each of thyme and Marjoram
2 small cloves of garlic
Black pepper
Homemade pizza dough (see above)

Procedure
To make calzone filling, crumble both goat cheeses, and grate in Mozzarella. Cut the 2 slices of Prosciutto a little bit thick and cut into julienne strips. Dice chives and fresh herbs. Mince the garlic and add to cheese mixture. Season with black pepper.

To assemble Calzone, roll out dough into 8-inch circles. Put filling on one side of the dough, leaving an inch around the edge clean. Brush with water and fold dough over and curl and pinch to seal. Laurel bakes hers on a pizza stone. They take 15-18 minutes in a very hot oven, 400 degrees. Brush top with olive oil. The dough should look quite brown and crisp. Serve warm and cut with a serrated knife.

Fettuccine with Prosciutto, Citrus Zest, and Black Olives

Seasonal Recipe of the Week
Today I thought we might make some pasta! Up for some carbs? This is a great dish to make for company because it goes together so fast and at the last minute. Nice with a bottle of Chianti and a crisp salad.

Ingredients
2 egg yolks
1 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
zest of 1 lemon
zest of 1/2 an orange
Salt and fresh pepper to taste
1 pound Fettuccine noodles
1/4 pound thin sliced prosciutto cut into julienne strips
12 oil cured pitted black olives coarsely chopped

Procedure
In a large serving bowl, combine yolks, cream, shredded Parmesan cheese, zest of lemon and orange, salt and pepper to taste. Beat slightly and set aside at room temperature. Cook the fettuccine in abundant salted water till al dente. Drain well and toss in cream mixture. Add the sliced prosicutto and the chopped black olives and adjust salt and pepper. Top with a little extra shredded cheese and serve.