Chicken Prosciutto Cutlets

So the other night for dinner I wanted to make something with Sage. For my birthday, Caitlin took me to Amalfi Ristorante in Rockville. It's not much to look at from the street (or even from inside I suppose) but the food is phenomenal, and definitely moderately priced. Anyway, I had their Chicken Saltimbocca that was smothered in Sage, and it really made me realize a few things. One, sage is freaking delicious! Two, I almost never use it in anything! So I thought I'd make something similar to their dish and I picked up my items at the store to make a good dinner for me and Caitlin. Here's what I came up with:

Chicken Prosciutto Cutlets

2 Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts
1 Jar Alfredo Sauce (I use Classico Four Cheese Alfredo Sauce because it's a lot lower in fat than others)
1 C White Wine
Handful of Fresh Sage leaves
2 Tsp Diced Garlic
4 oz Proscuitto, thinly sliced
4 oz Crumbled Goat Cheese
1/4 C Olive Oil
1/2 C Sliced Mushrooms
Salt and Pepper to taste
Angel Hair pasta

Okay, to start off with, you're going to want to trim the fat off the chicken and lay them flat on a cutting board. With your hand laid flat on top, you'll want to cut horizontally through the chicken breasts in the middle to separate each into 2 filets. Lay the 4 filets next to each other on the cutting board and cover with plastic wrap. With the heel of your hand or a fist, work your way up to pounding the chicken until they're soft and flattened.

Once you've got them flattened, pre-heat your saute/frying pan to medium-high and add the oil. While that's heating up, start boiling water with a little olive oil in it in another large saucepan for the pasta and start heating the whole bottle of alfredo sauce on high in another saucepan. Once the oil is heated up, swish the pan around gently so the oil covers as much of the bottom of the pan as possible and add in the chicken cutlets and sprinkle each one with salt and pepper. Saute 3 or 4 minutes or until they begin to brown up slightly and then flip them and sprinkle more salt and pepper on them. While the second side is cooking, the pasta sauce should be warmed up by now so you can add in the wine (which should be room temperature) and stir every few minutes with a whisk.

Once the second side of the chicken is finished sauteing, remove it from the pan onto a cutting board or plate to let them rest. If the water is boiling, add in your pasta (you'll want about half to two-thirds of a box of angel hair pasta). With the chicken removed, make sure there is enough oil to cover the bottom of the pan, if not, add a little more and let it warm up (or you can add some butter if you want that flavor), then add in the mushrooms and diced garlic and stir/saute until the mushrooms have softened, about 3 minutes. Once that's done, pour the alfredo/wine sauce from the saucepan into the saute pan and reduce heat to medium, stirring occasionally. Let the pasta sauce simmer for a few minutes and stir gently to make sure it doesn't stick to the pan.

With the chicken on the plate or cutting board, cover each chicken with sage by laying whole sage leaves across the top of the chicken cutlets, then cover each with a slice of the proscuitto (or however much it takes to cover it if the cutlets are large). Once you have them all arranged, gently place back into the saute pan and lightly spoon a little of the sauce on top of each cutlet, then cover the pan and let simmer for about 10 minutes. When the pasta has reached al dente (usually about 9-13 minutes depending on brand), remove it from heat and strain the water out and plate the pasta on shallow bowls or plates. After the chicken is done simmering, place a cutlet next to the pasta and spoon some sauce onto the pasta and the chicken and then sprinkle on the goat cheese crumbles and serve!