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Chicken Saltimbocca

For dinner last night I made Chicken Saltimbocca, Cheesy Orzo and steamed broccoli. I spent a lot of time comparing various Saltimbocca recipes on the web. They all involve sage and prosciutto, but from there they tend to diverge significantly. I settled on one from Mario Batali on Food Network's web site which included a sauce of mushrooms and Marsala wine. (It also included some deep-fried sage leaves, but I skipped that.) For those not familiar with saltimbocca (which I think in Italian means something like "jump into your mouth"), the chicken is pounded very thin, covered with fresh sage leaves plus a thin slice of prosciutto, folded in half, secured with toothpicks and then sautéed. I was very happy with how this turned out. The sweet Marsala sauce was the prefect complement to the sage flavor. The Cheesy Orzo was fine, but it tasted a little too much like a thick alfredo sauce. Next time I will use much much less cheese, or just try a different orzo recipe like maybe Orzo with Parsley with Lemon Zest.

Marsala fun facts!The fortified wine is named for the city of Marsala at the Western tip of Sicily. The name came from the Saracen Arab name for the city: "Marsa el Allah" ("Port of God"). In 1796, an Englishman who had previously developed Port in Portugal developed the fortified Marsala wine. At the time Sicily was occupied by thousands of British troops arrayed against Napolean who had control of mainland Italy. [Source: BestofSicily.com ]