Grams Made Greek Chicken & Orzo Soup

It's Monday evening and we're at our son's house in Houston waiting for Grandad's pre-operative testing tomorrow. We have to be at the Texas Heart Institute at 9 a.m.

Nick returned from a week in Canada with his wife Marie where they snowboarded and rang in the new year. He's feeling a little under the weather so I cooked up a big pot of Greek Chicken & Orzo Soup. This is one of my favorite recipes. The first time I had it, Katy made it for us. It's thickened with eggs instead of corn starch or flour, so it's high in protein and low in carbohydrates.

8 cups chicken stock
3/4 cup of orzo
4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
3 eggs
1/3 cup fresh lemon juice
Salt and white pepper to taste
2 teaspoons dried parsley flakes

Roast chicken breasts in 350 degree oven for 45 minutes until done. Cut crosswise into 1/4-inch thick pieces.

In a large saucepan, bring stock to a boil over medium heat. Reduce heat to medium-low and add orzo and parsley.  Cook uncovered about 15 minutes until orzo is done. Five minutes before pasta is done, add chicken.

Place eggs in mixing bowl. Whisk eggs while adding lemon juice. Whisking constantly, slowly pour a ladle of the hot stock into the egg mixture to temper.

Reduce heat to very low. Then, while whisking the soup in pan, slowly pour in the egg mixture. Soup should thicken slightly. Add salt and pepper and garnish with parsley.

Serve with crusty bread.

Grams Made Chicken Saltimbocca

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.