Let’s Have a “Fancy” Date!

 

Cooking terms always confuse me. They seem to use words no one else ever uses. It’s like a secret club and only they understand the code. I saw a recipe in a book for a roulade. It looked interesting but I didn’t know what a “Roulade” was so I looked it up. It basically said it was a “roll.” So now I’m confused. They call tortillas with stuff in them roll ups and I’ve always called a rolled cake, a jelly roll but now I need to learn another word for the same thing. I guess I’ll never be fancy. Then again, at my age, I don’t much care but I decided since I was going to enter this recipe in the “Formal Date” category of the Date Contest maybe I should call it something “Fancy” so my recipe became “Date Stuffed Chicken Roulades”

I decided, since I love apples and raisins in stuffing, dates might be good. Was I ever right! The dates added a hint of sweetness and didn’t overpower the savory flavors of the onion and chicken broth. The sage and the onion powder also added some savory flavors which seemed to enhance the balance of the stuffing. I used a package of dried stuffing but if you are ambitious you can make your own. I couldn’t get all the stuffing in my chicken breasts so I made stuffing muffins to serve on the side. Ah, I know, we all have problems. Mine became dinner!   

 

 

“Date Stuffed Chicken Roulades”

2 tablespoons olive oil

½ cup onion, diced
3 cups chicken broth
½ cup Made in Nature Deglet Noor Dates, chopped
2 cups dry stuffing mix
1 teaspoon ground sage
1 teaspoon onion powder
2-(6oz) boneless, skinless, chicken breasts
5oz sliced mushrooms
½ cup heavy cream or half and half
2 tablespoons flour

 In a large skillet, add olive oil and sauté onion over medium heat until tender. Add 2 cups chicken broth and chopped dates. Simmer 10 minutes. Add stuffing mix, sage and onion powder. Cover and set aside while you prepare chicken breasts.

Place chicken breasts between 2 pieces of plastic wrap and pound until ¼ inch thickness. Place approximately ½ cup stuffing mixture in center and roll breast around mixture. Secure chicken breasts with toothpicks. Season with salt and pepper. Place remaining stuffing in greased muffin pans or small casserole dish. Bake stuffing for 15 minutes at 350 degrees.

Sauté chicken breasts in 2 tablespoons olive oil until browned. About 4 minutes on each side. Remove roulades from pan and sauté mushrooms in same pan until tender. Add remaining 1 cup chicken broth and return roulades to the pan. Cover and simmer 10 minutes. Remove roulades to serving plate. Add flour to heavy cream. Reduce heat to low and slowly pour mixture into skillet. Heat until sauce starts to thicken. Serve roulades with sauce and additional stuffing. Serves 2