Inspired by this week's Farmer's Market offerings...

There is an awesome little Italian Deli permanently located at my Farmer's Market (Oh, Mamma's!). This is where I get all of my prosciutto...and it was screaming my name this time. So, my first item of inspiration was this beautiful Parma Prosciutto. A few stalls down, there sat some thin little asparagus spears...flaunting their purple tips...item numero dos.

I also found a few bunches of sage...which magically disappeared from my photos...guess it was some shy sage...so I decided to use it in a dish where it is not very visible, but it's flavor shines through. With the crazy heat we've been feeling here in Northern Indiana lately (87 degrees already!! Hey, Northern Indiana, people). I haven't really been feeling like roasting in the kitchen along with my tasty morsels, so I've been thinking "quick". Not every meal, but more than the cooler months. I picked up some thin-cut chicken breasts on sale the other day and decided to make a quick version of Chicken Saltimbocca. I saw them make a similar dish on America's Test Kitchen once, but didn't write down the recipe...I know this is fairly close to their version, though. Did you know that Saltimbocca translate roughly to "jump in your mouth"?! Ha! Jump in my mouth, chicken!

Quick Chicken Saltimbocca

by girlichef...adapted from a recipe seen on America's Test Kitchen

2 lb. thin-cut Chicken breasts

~1/3 lb. Prosciutto, sliced thin

bunch of sage, leaves picked and chopped

flour

black pepper

1/2 c. dry white wine

1 c. chicken stock

1 Tbs. butter + extra for pan

1 Tbs. parsley, chopped

First, pat the chicken dry with some paper towels. Mix flour and freshly cracked black pepper on a large plate, for dredging. I know you're tempted to add salt...but DON'T DO IT!! The salt in the prosciutto is plenty! Dip each chicken breast in flour and shake off excess. Sprinkle each breast with an even amount of the chopped sage. Cover with a slice of prosciutto. In a heavy skillet that has been sitting on the burners getting hot, drop in a small pat of butter. Add the chicken carefully, prosciutto side down. Once it is cooked about 1/2 way (just a couple of minutes with this thin-cut chicken), flip over and finish cooking (another couple of minutes). The prosciutto will adhere to the breast with the help of the heat, via shrinkage...and the flour. Remove to a rack set over a sheet pan to make the sauce. While pan is still hot, pour in the wine and deglaze (scrape up those flavorful bits) the pan. Add the stock and reduce to about 1/2 c. total. This only takes a couple of minutes. Remove from heat and stir in butter and parsley. Spoon over chicken. Before you start cooking, I put on a pot of this awesome whole grain blend by Rice Select called Whole Grain Royal Blend....it contains Texmati brown and wild rice with soft wheat and rye berries...YUM! I also just steamed that lovely asparagus. Voila...quick meal for those days when it is just too hot to stand around in the kitchen all day (well, with all the hot stuff going full-steam, at least)! Don't forget to enter my giveaway and chile pepper round-up...just 5 more days to enter, including today!! ****I have been having trouble opening some people's blogs lately (and believe me, I've given it the good, old college try...). Please excuse me if I haven't stopped by to visit you lately...as soon as I can figure out what in the world is going on, I'm gonna have to devote a whole day to catching up!!!****