Bacon Wrapped Roasted Red Pepper And Goat Cheese Stuffed Chicken With Balsamic Drizzle And Basil Recipes

BALSAMIC GOAT CHEESE STUFFED CHICKEN BREASTS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
• Heat olive oil in a skillet over medium heat; cook and stir shallot until translucent, about 5 minutes. Pour balsamic vinegar into skillet and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer until balsamic vinegar mixture is reduced by half, about 10 minutes. Stir often.
• Cut chicken breasts from one side through the middle horizontally to within one-half inch of the other side. Open the two sides and spread them out like an open book.
• Spread half the goat cheese onto one half of each chicken breast and drizzle 1/3 of the reduced balsamic vinegar mixture over the goat cheese. Close the chicken breasts over the goat cheese and secure with toothpicks. Arrange chicken into a baking dish. Drizzle with remaining 1/3 of the balsamic reduction.
• Bake in the preheated oven until the chicken is no longer pink inside, the filling is hot, and the juices run clear, 30 to 35 minutes. An instant-read meat thermometer inserted into the center of a filled breast should read at least 160 degrees F (70 degrees C).

BACON AND BASIL-WRAPPED CHICKEN BREASTS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400°F.
• In a small saucepan of boiling water blanch basil 2 seconds and drain in a sieve. Rinse basil under cold water to stop cooking and pat dry on paper towels.
• Put 1 whole chicken breast, skinned side down, on a work surface and remove "tender" (fillet strip located on either side of where breast bone was) from each breast half, keeping rest of chicken breast intact. (There should be 2 tenders from each whole breast.)
• Put 2 tenders side by side and wrap 7 basil leaves around them to enclose them. Season remainder of whole breast with salt and pepper and put basil-wrapped tenders lengthwise down middle of 1 breast half. Fold other breast half over to enclose tenders.
• Beginning on underside at 1 end of breast, wrap bacon slices snugly but without stretching, 1 at a time, around breast in a continuous overlapping spiral from 1 end to the other. (You will need about 4 to 5 bacon slices for each breast.)
• Remove tenders from remaining 2 chicken breasts and stuff and wrap breasts in same manner. Sprinkle crushed peppercorns evenly over bacon wrappings.
• Heat a 9- to 10-inch cast-iron skillet over moderately high heat until hot. Sliding a metal spatula under wrapped chicken breasts to keep bacon intact, transfer 2 breasts, undersides down, to skillet. Cook chicken, turning it only after bacon on underside is golden, until bacon is golden and crisp on all sides, about 4 minutes total. Transfer chicken as browned to a plate and cook remaining breast in same manner.
• Pour off fat from skillet and return all 3 chicken breasts to skillet. Roast chicken in middle of oven 15 minutes, or until firm to the touch and just cooked through. Transfer chicken with tongs to a cutting board and let stand 10 minutes before slicing.