A little bit of this and a little bit of ... well, Giada.

Giada De Lauretiis' cooking show is definitely one of my favorite shows on the food network. She makes everything look incredibly easy and she always makes a dish for family or friends (I know it's for TV but I don't care, I still like it). Giada seems like a person that women can relate to but I don’t understand how she is so small when she’s constantly making the most delicious, not so healthy, meals. Good genes I guess.

Today I decided I am going to make my boyfriend dinner tonight. I usually cook during the week but I haven’t really cooked anything this week. It is definitely one of my favorite pastimes. The best part is that my boyfriend will eat anything and even if it is not so great… he’ll still eat it and tell me its good, what a great guy! ;)

So, I was looking through her recipes (I actually own her cookbook but have never made anything from it) and I have come up with what I will make: Chicken Saltimbocca. When I told my boyfriend this he responded, “ok cool…salt??” It is definitely not how it sounds. For those of you who do not know what it is, it is chicken wrapped with prosciutto and spinach and parmesan cheese on top… how good does THAT sound? I am excited, it looks pretty easy and I have never made it before so hopefully it will come out good.  Here is the recipe… you should try it too.

 Ingredients

• 6 (3-ounce) chicken cutlets, pounded to evenly flatten
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 6 paper-thin slices prosciutto
• 1 (10-ounce) box frozen chopped spinach, thawed
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 1/4 cup grated Parmesan
• 1 (14-ounce) can low-salt chicken broth
• 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

Directions

Place the chicken cutlets flat on the work surface. Sprinkle the chicken with salt and pepper. Lay 1 slice of prosciutto atop each chicken cutlet.

Squeeze the frozen spinach to remove the excess water. Season the spinach with salt and pepper. In a small bowl, toss the spinach with 1 tablespoon of oil to coat.

Arrange an even, thin layer of spinach atop the prosciutto slices. Sprinkle the Parmesan evenly over each. Beginning at the short tapered end, roll up each chicken cutlet as for a jellyroll. Secure with a toothpick.

Heat the remaining 2 tablespoons of oil in a heavy large skillet over high heat. Add the chicken and cook just until golden brown, about 2 minutes per side. Add the chicken broth and lemon juice, and scrape the browned bits off the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon. Bring the liquid to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium. Cover and simmer until the chicken is just cooked through, about 8 to 10 minutes. Transfer the chicken to a platter. Simmer the cooking liquid over high heat until it is reduced to about 2/3 cup, about 5 minutes. Season the cooking liquid with salt and pepper, to taste. Remove toothpicks from the chicken. Drizzle the reduced cooking liquid over the chicken and serve immediately.