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If you happen to be in the Raleigh, North Carolina area in your travels and have a taste for Italian, I'll clue you in what was once the best kept secret in Carolina Cuisine.  In Northern Raleigh, just off of Capital Boulevard is a place called CASALINGA.  The word means 'Home Cooking' in Italian.  I even worked there for a couple years after college while debating on what I wanted to do for the rest of my occupational life.  So, if you want to impress family, the loved one, or want to add something special to your menu, check this out.....Bon Appetit!

                                               Chicken Casalinga

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon butter
4 large button mushrooms, sliced
2 ounces diced prosciutto
1 cup heavy cream
3 tablespoons brandy
2 artichoke hearts, halved
3 to 4 large fresh basil leaves
2 ounces (about 1/2 cup) grated Parmesan cheese
Salt and pepper, to taste
2 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves, pounded to 1/2- inch thickness
About 1/2 cup flour, for dredging
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 cups (loosely packed) fresh spinach leaves
2 slices mozzarella

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease a 7-by-11-inch baking dish.

Melt butter in a saute pan over medium-high heat. Add mushrooms and prosciutto, and saute until the mushrooms begin to soften, about 3 minutes. Add cream, brandy, artichoke hearts and basil, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat, stir in Parmesan, and simmer until sauce thickens, about 5 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Keep warm.

While cream sauce is cooking, dredge chicken breasts in flour. Shake off any excess flour. Heat olive oil in a skillet or heavy-bottomed saute pan over high heat. When oil begins to smoke, add the chicken breasts to the pan. Sear until breasts are cooked through and lightly browned on both sides, about 2 minutes per side.

Line bottom of baking dish with spinach leaves. Pour sauce over spinach. Place chicken breasts, side by side, on top of the sauce and top each breast with a mozzarella slice. Bake until cheese melts, about 2 minutes. Serve hot.

Makes 2 servings.

Per serving: calories, 1,154 (63% from fat); fats, 81 grams (43 grams saturated); cholesterol, 307 milligrams; carbohydrate, 32 grams; sugar, 5 grams; fiber, 4 grams; protein, 60 grams; sodium, 2,394 milligrams

FROM CASALINGA