Four Cheese Stuffed Chicken Breast with Sautéed Red Grapes in Chardonnay Beurre Blanc Sauce

At the restaurant, we use a free-range “airline” (has the wing attached) chicken breast and serve this over hazelnut orzo accompanied by haricots vertes in a brown butter sauce. The stuffing can be varied using other cheeses to suite your taste but should be quite thick at room temperature. I like the sauce because, after you get the hang of it, it is very easy to make and very tasty.

Yield: 6 servings
Oven: 350 deg. F.

Ingredients for the stuffing:
• ¼ c soft cream cheese
• 1 T blue cheese crumbles
• 1 T grated good quality parmesan cheese
• 1 T grated jack cheese
• 1 T minced shallots
• Salt and pepper to taste

Ingredients for the chicken breasts:
• 6 7-8 oz. boneless chicken breasts halves skin left intact, rinsed and patted dry
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• Flour
• Canola or olive oil

Ingredients for the sauce:
• 1 cup red grapes cut in half
• 1/3 cup chardonnay
• 1 T fresh lemon juice
• 2 tsp honey
• 1 T unsalted butter (optional)

To make the stuffing – Combine the first five ingredients. Adjust the seasoning with salt and pepper to taste.

To make the chicken – Salt and pepper the skin side of the chicken breast, dredge with flour and sauté both sides until golden brown. Cut a pocket in each breast: Lay the breast skin side up on a cutting board. Hold a 5- or 6-inch sharp, thin-bladed knife with its flat side parallel to the cutting board. About half way up and midway along the thicker side of the breast, carefully make an incision that goes deep into the breast but doesn’t break through the opposite side. Place a tablespoon or so of the stuffing into the pocket. Put the chicken on a baking sheet and place in the preheated oven. Bake until just cooked (about 10- 15 minutes).

To make the sauce – Place the first four ingredients in a medium sauté pan over medium heat. After the sauce thickens drop in the chilled butter. Swirl until the butter melts. With the chicken on a plate, spoon the sauce over the breasts. Serve immediately. Enjoy!