Just for taste.
I'm a food enthusiast, a pretty darn good cook, and addicted to chef-related reality shows like Top Chef, Hell's Kitchen, and the Next Food Network Star.

Christine and I hosted a cooking class last year at Central Market in Austin.  I cooked, she talked (go figure).  Enjoy our recipe for Proscuitto Wrapped Dijon Chicken served over Saffron Orzo with a Roasted Vegetable Medley.  It's really great.

Proscuitto Wrapped Dijon Chicken

Chris had this dish in an Italian restaurant in England and came home, determined to recreate it – which he has done!

Ingredients: 

2 large chicken breasts
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon butter
3 tablespoons Dijon mustard
2/3 cup white wine
2 tablespoons shallots – chopped fine
1 tablespoon garlic – chopped fine
A pinch of Herbes de Provence
4 teaspoons whole grain mustard
Sprigs of fresh Italian flat leaf parsley
4 large, thin slices of prosciutto
Cracked black pepper

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Separate the breast halves to create 4 breast filets.  Pound the chicken breasts with a heavy mallet under saran wrap until flat and fairly thin.  Season with salt and fresh pepper.

In a sauce pan, sauté the shallots and garlic in 2 tablespoons of olive oil and a tablespoon of butter till translucent, about 3 minutes.  Add white wine, Dijon mustard and Herbes de Provence and simmer for 5 minutes. 

Coat the chicken breasts in the Dijon/wine sauce and place one teaspoon of whole grain mustard and a sprig of parsley at the thinner end of the breast.  Starting there, roll the breast and and then wrap with prosciutto ham.  Secure with a wooden toothpick if necessary.  Drizzle with olive oil and top with cracked black pepper. 

Place in lightly oiled baking dish and bake uncovered at 400 degrees for 50 minutes.  The proscuitto should get crispy and the kitchen should smell incredible.

Serve over Orzo. 

Deglaze the chicken pan by adding white wine and a squeeze of lemon…let reduce for 5 minutes, then pour over chicken & orzo to finish.     Serves 4

Saffron Orzo 

No special story – we found this through the magic of Google! I mixes well with the Dijon sauce from the Chicken.   

Ingredients 

4 cups chicken stock
1 teaspoon saffron threads
1 pound dried orzo
¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil
½ lemon, juiced
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
¼ cup chopped flat leaf parsley 

In a large pot, bring the chicken stock to a boil over high heat.  Reduce the heat to low, bringing the stock to a simmer.  Add the saffron, stir, and allow the saffron to bloom, about 5 minutes.  Return the heat to medium and the stock to a boil, then add the orzo and cook until tender but still firm to bite, stirring occasionally, about 8 to 10 minutes.  Drain orzo and transfer to a large bowl.  Add the olive oil, lemon juice, salt, pepper and parsley.  Toss to combine.  Serves 6

Roasted Vegetable Medley

 Simple and delicious.

Ingredients 

6 oz. Crimini mushrooms
2 red peppers
1 yellow pepper
1 medium red purple onion
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
Salt
Black pepper, ground fresh from the mill

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Cut the peppers along their folds in lengthwise sections (8 to a pepper).  Scrape away and discard the pulpy core.  Peel the onion and cut into 8 wedge shaped sections.  Place the vegetables in a baking dish, drizzle with EV olive oil, sprinkle with salt and fresh pepper and toss till coated.  Bake in oven at 400 degrees for 30 to 40 minutes, tossing once more halfway through cooking time.    

Serves 4