A couple of years ago when our son married, Grams and Grandad got off very easy. All we really had to do was host the rehearsal dinner. We chose Buca di Beppo, a fabulous Italian restaurant in Houston. The atmosphere is casual and the food is incredible! It's the perfect place for a rehearsal dinner.The highlight of the meal for me was Chicken Saltimbocca. Since then I've tried this dish in several other restaurants. None of them has measured up to the Buca di Beppo version. I found a couple of "copycat" versions on the internet. I combined several of them and made a few alterations. It's much easier than I expected and came out remarkably similar to Buca's dish.
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
4 thin slices of Prosciutto ham
1 tablespoon ground sage
1/3 cup olive oil
1/4 all-purpose flour
1 small can artichoke hearts, quartered
a handful of capers
1/2 cup white wine
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
1/4 cup heavy cream
1 tablespoon butter
salt & pepper to taste
Rub chicken breasts with sage. Place sliced Prosciutto on top of the chicken and pound it into the breast until the thickness of the chicken measures 3/8 inch.
Meanwhile, heat olive oil in a skillet. Dredge the chicken/Prosciutto in flour to coat lightly. Place in heated oil, Prosciutto site down. Brown one side, turn and brown the other side (about 3 minutes per side). Remove chicken from pan to a large platter. Drain off excess oil and deglaze skillet with white wine. Add artichokes, lemon juice, cream and butter. Cook until sauce is thickened. Add salt and pepper to taste.
Pour sauce over chicken breasts and top with capers.
