Making stuffed chicken breasts might seem daunting, but this dish is both elegant and simple to prepare.

Cooking can cause anxiety, especially when you’re trying to conquer new dishes. This recipe for chicken breasts stuffed with red onions and Gouda in white wine sauce might seem daunting for some, who fret over lumpy sauce or imperfectly cut chicken. But armed with these tips from food writer Victoria Abbott Riccardi, you can tackle this entree with confidence.

Creating a pocket in a chicken breast sounds difficult, mainly because the knife can pierce the back (or if you’re really overzealous, your palm). The trick is to use small, slow cuts with a small, very sharp knife. If the knife accidentally cuts through the back of the breast, the prosciutto that wraps around the breast will seal the cut. As for the sauce, a surefire way to avoid lumps is to whisk the flour into a cold liquid first, and then add the mixture to the hot skillet (instead of adding flour to a skillet of bubbling liquid).

This recipe is easy enough for a weeknight, but elegant enough to make for company. For a different flavor, substitute blue or chèvre for the Gouda.

For Chicken:
4 teaspoons olive oil, divided
1½ cups thinly sliced red onion (½ large onion)
2 teaspoons minced fresh rosemary
1 cup shredded, aged Gouda cheese
Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
4 (4- to 5- ounce) boneless, skinless chicken breasts
8 slices prosciutto

For Wine Sauce:
½ cup dry white wine
2 teaspoons minced fresh rosemary
1 cup low-sodium chicken broth
2 tablespoons flour

1. To make chicken: Heat 2 teaspoons of oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion and rosemary. Sauté for 8 minutes or until browned. Let cool; stir in shredded cheese, and season with salt and pepper to taste.

2. Place the chicken breasts on a cutting board and, using a sharp knife, slowly ease the knife across (from left to right) and back into (but not through) the thickest portion of each chicken breast to form a pocket. If you need to widen or deepen the pocket, do so with your knife tip, one small cut at a time.

3. Stuff each pocket with a portion of the onion-cheese mixture. Next, seal each pocket by wrapping 1 slice of prosciutto over left side of chicken breast to cover left half of pocket opening and second slice over right side of chicken breast to cover right half, overlapping in center portion of pocket.

4. Heat the remaining 2 teaspoons of the olive oil over medium-high heat in the same skillet you used to cook the onion. Add the chicken breasts; sauté for 5 minutes on each side (they will finish cooking in the wine sauce). Next, transfer the chicken to a platter and cover it with aluminum foil to keep it warm.

5. To make wine sauce: Add wine and rosemary to same skillet. Cook over medium-high heat for 2 minutes, scraping up any brown bits that have stuck to bottom. Meanwhile, whisk together cold chicken broth and flour in a small bowl until smooth. Add to skillet, reduce heat to low and whisk sauce constantly until thickened, about 1 minute. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Transfer chicken to skillet and coat each breast with sauce. Cook, covered, until chicken is cooked through, about 2 minutes. Serve each chicken breast with sauce over top.

Nutrition Score Per Serving (1 chicken breast plus ½ cup sauce): 351 calories, 38% fat (15 g; 5.4 g saturated), 18% carbs (9g), 44% protein (39 g), 1 g fiber, 129 mg calcium, 2 mg iron, 744 mg sodium

For more delicious recipes and tips on how to be fearless in the kitchen, check out “No Fear No Fail Cooking.”

Photo credit: Ray Kachatorian

Reap the benefits with this seasonal special — rich in protein and calcium and low in artery-clogging saturated fat — from Chef Lyle Bolyard at The Lodge at Woodloch in Hawley, PA.

Seared Salmon With Pumpkin Risotto

For risotto:
4 cups chicken stock
½ cup rice milk
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1/8 cup minced onion
1 cup Arborio rice
½ cup cubed pumpkin (blanched)
Salt and pepper to taste

Mix the chicken stock and rice milk together and warm in a saucepot. Set aside. In a medium-sized saucepan, heat the olive oil over medium heat and add the onions. Sauté for about 45 seconds. Add the rice and stir until the rice is completely coated with the oil and onions are mixed. Reduce the heat to medium-low and start to ladle the warm chicken-stock mixture into the rice about 4 ounces at a time, taking about 2-minute intervals between. Make sure to continuously stir the rice while it is cooking. After you have ladled about half of the stock into the pot, add the blanched pumpkin and continue to cook, adding more stock every 2 minutes. The cooking process should take 35–40 minutes, or until the rice and pumpkin are tender. Add salt and pepper to taste.

For the salmon:
2 tablespoons olive oil
4 5-ounce pieces wild salmon
Salt and pepper to taste
1 5-ounce bag roasted pumpkin seeds

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large sauté pan, add 2 tablespoons of olive oil and heat over medium heat for 1 minute. Season the salmon with salt and pepper. Place the salmon into the hot pan and sear for 3 minutes on each side. After searing, finish the salmon in the oven for 5 minutes. Remove the salmon from the oven and serve on a platter over a bed of pumpkin risotto. Garnish the top of the salmon with roasted pumpkin seeds.

Recommendation: Serve a favorite green with the dish like wilted spinach or sautéed Swiss chard.

Full meal serves 4; prep time: about an hour; cook time: 51 minutes total

Adapted by VIVmag from a recipe by Gonzalez, this dish is one of her personal favorites.

Pan-Seared Snapper Fillet Over White-Water Clams and Chorizo Stew

Serves 1

INGREDIENTS:

2  tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided
1/4  cup thinly sliced leeks
6  fresh white-water clams (Florida farm-raised)
3  1 1/2-inch slices Spanish chorizo
1  clove garlic, thinly sliced
2  fingerling potatoes, steamed
1/4  red tomato, julienned
6  ounces white wine
1  tablespoon cilantro leaves
6  ounces fish stock
5  ounces red snapper fillet
1/2  tablespoon Plugrá (higher-fat) butter
2  chive sprigs

FOR THE STEW:

1. Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in sauté pan over medium heat; add leeks, clams, chorizo and garlic. Cook for 2 minutes.
2. Add potatoes and tomato, then wine, and stir to deglaze pan.
3. Add cilantro leaves and fish stock. Cover, reduce heat and cook until clams open.

FOR THE FISH:

1. Preheat oven to 350° F.
2. Heat remaining olive oil in cast-iron skillet over medium heat. Sauté snapper, cooking skin side down, for 3–4 minutes.
3. Flip fish over, place in ovenproof dish and bake for 3–4 minutes.
4. Meanwhile, uncover stew and add Plugrá butter.

TO SERVE:

Place clams around sides of a wide, shallow bowl, and mound potatoes and chorizo in center. Place cooked fish, skin side up, on top of potatoes, and cover with remaining stew mixture. Garnish with chive sprigs; serve immediately.

Chicken Creole
Serves 4

Nonstick cooking spray as needed
4 medium chicken breast halves, skinless, boned and cut into 1-inch strips
1 ½ cups (1 large) green pepper, seeded and chopped
1 ½ cups chopped celery
1 cup (14 oz) chopped tomatoes, fresh or canned
1 cup low-sodium chili sauce
¼ cup chopped onion
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh basil (or 1 tsp dried)
1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh parsley (or 1 tsp dried)
¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper
¼ teaspoon salt

Directions: Spray a deep skillet with nonstick cooking spray. Preheat pan over high heat. Cook chicken in hot skillet, stirring, for 3 to 5 minutes or until no longer pink. Reduce heat. Add green pepper, celery, tomatoes with juice, chili sauce, onion, garlic, basil, parsley, red pepper and salt. Bring to boil and reduce heat. Simmer, covered, for 10 minutes. Serve over brown rice or whole-grain pasta.

Recipe from The Cardiac Recovery Cookbook: Heart-Healthy Recipes for Life After Heart Attack or Heart Surgery by M. Laurel Cutlip, R.D., L.N., with Sari Budgazad, R.D., C.D.N., Copyright 2005. Excerpted with permission from Hatherleigh Press.

Cora, who now resides in Santa Barbara, CA, shares one of her favorite recipes with VIVmag, “I love traditional Greek comfort food, but have lightened it up to fit in with my Southern California lifestyle,” she says.

Lettuce “Gyros” With Spicy Halibut and Feta-Mint Tzatziki

Serves 4

HALIBUT:

2  tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus additional to sear fish
2  tablespoons fresh lime juice
1  tablespoon chili powder
1  tablespoon ground cumin
1  teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 1/2  teaspoons sea salt
1/4  teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 1/2  pounds halibut fillets (four 6-ounce center-cut halibut fillets or six 4-ounce fillets)

LETTUCE CUPS:

1  head butter lettuce
1  head radicchio

CONDIMENTS:

Pepperoncini
Chopped scallions
Feta-Mint Tzatziki (recipe follows)

FETA-MINT TZATZIKI: (Makes 1 1/2 cups)

1  cup plain Greek-style yogurt
2  tablespoons crumbled feta cheese
1  tablespoon fresh lemon juice
2  tablespoons olive oil
1  teaspoon minced garlic (about 1 large clove)
1  teaspoon kosher salt
2  teaspoons finely chopped mint
1  cucumber, peeled

TOMATO SALAD:5  Roma tomatoes, diced
1  medium red onion, thinly sliced
1/2  cup kalamata olives, pitted and halved
1  tablespoon finely chopped fresh oregano
2  tablespoons coarsely chopped flat-leaf parsley
2  tablespoons fresh lime juice
2  tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste

TO MAKE FETA-MINT TZATZIKI:

1. In a medium bowl, combine all ingredients except cucumber; set aside.
2. Using an old-fashioned box grater, grate cucumber directly over yogurt mixture. Cover bowl and chill in refrigerator at least one hour, or overnight.

TO MARINATE HALIBUT:

1. Preheat grill to medium-hot or oven to 350° F.
2. In a baking dish, combine 2 tablespoons olive oil, lime juice, chili powder, cumin, cayenne, salt and pepper.
3. Add halibut fillets in a single layer and turn to coat thoroughly with marinade. Allow fillets to marinate for 10 minutes while you make the tomato salad.

TO MAKE TOMATO SALAD:1. In medium bowl, combine tomatoes, onions, olives, oregano, parsley, lime juice and olive oil. Season to taste with kosher salt and black pepper. Set aside.

TO BAKE HALIBUT:

1. Pour 1 tablespoon olive oil into large skillet over high heat and sear fish for 1 minute on each side.
2. Bake fish in oiled Pyrex baking dish in oven until firm to the touch and flakes easily when separated with the tines of a fork, 10–12 minutes for fillets and 12–15 minutes for steaks.
3. Remove fish from oven and let it rest in the pan while you prepare lettuce cups.

TO PREPARE LETTUCE CUPS:

1. Form lettuce cups by gently separating the heads of butter lettuce and radicchio. For extra-crisp cups, soak lettuce in very cold water for a few minutes before removing and patting dry with a paper towel.
2. Make a cup by lining a whole leaf of butter lettuce with radicchio; double-line the cups to reduce the chance of leaks.

TO SERVE:1. Flake a generous portion of fish into each lettuce cup or cut fish into small chunks and divide evenly among cups.
2. Top with tomato salad. Drizzle with tzatziki, if desired, and garnish with pepperoncini and scallions. Serve immediately. You can eat this with a knife and fork or pick up the lettuce cup and eat it with gusto.

Adapted by VIVmag from a recipe courtesy of Houghton Mifflin.

The following meal makeover, provided by Barbara J. Rolls, Ph.D., author of The Volumetrics Eating Plan: Techniques and Recipes for Feeling Full on Fewer Calories (HarperCollins, 2005), evokes the hearty traditional flavors of French countryside cooking. It’s also a delicious example of “supersizing” done right. As Rolls explains, pumping up the veggie volume — in this case, with mushrooms and carrots — adds water and reduces energy density, so you’ll fill up on fewer calories. She also replaced dark meat and bacon with skinless white-meat chicken and Canadian bacon, radically transforming a decadent, fatty entree into a heart-healthy, lowfat, protein-packed savory treat.

Bon appétit!

Chicken Merlot
Serves 4

4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves (4 ounces each)

¼ cup all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon dried thyme

½ teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil

3 cups quartered mushrooms, about ½ pound

2 cups peeled sliced carrots

4 pieces Canadian bacon, cut into ¼-inch-wide slices

2/3 cup Merlot or other dry red wine

2/3 cup nonfat, reduced-sodium chicken broth

2 teaspoons canned tomato paste

¼ cup chopped, fresh flat-leaf parsley

Prep tip: Always wash hands, countertops, cutting boards, knives and other utensils with soapy water if they have come in contact with the raw chicken. Note that is not necessary to wash the raw chicken, as cooking destroys any bacteria that may be present. For more information, check out eatchicken.com.

Directions: Cut each chicken breast crosswise into 3 pieces. Combine the flour, thyme and salt in a resealable plastic bag and add chicken pieces. Seal the bag and shake. Remove the chicken and shake off excess flour. Lightly coat a large nonstick skillet with cooking spray. Add 1 teaspoon of the oil and heat over medium-high heat. Add chicken and cook, stirring, for 5 minutes, or until chicken is lightly browned on both sides. Remove chicken and set aside.

Add 1 teaspoon of oil to the skillet and sauté mushrooms, carrots and bacon for 2 minutes. Stir in wine, broth and tomato paste and cook, stirring occasionally, for 10 minutes.

Return chicken to skillet and cook for 4-5 minutes, or until it is no longer pink in the center. Divide chicken mixture among 4 plates, sprinkle with the parsley, and serve.

Serving Tip: Try boiled potatoes or whole-grain pasta such as fusilli or penne as side dishes.

Parmesan and Rosemary “Fried” Chicken
Serves 4

• 6 tablespoons light butter (such as Land O’Lakes)
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 10-ounce bag baked potato chips (such as Lay’s)
• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 1 1/2 teaspoons minced fresh rosemary
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper
• 4 4-ounce boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• Cooking spray

Directions: Preheat oven to 350° F.

In a medium skillet over low heat, melt the light butter. Stir in garlic, remove from heat and set aside to cool.
Meanwhile, place potato chips in a large, resealable plastic bag. Seal bag and crush chips with a rolling pin until they are finely ground into crumbs. Add Parmesan, rosemary, salt and pepper to bag, seal, and shake until thoroughly combined.
Coat chicken breast in the butter mixture, then place in bag. Seal and shake, gently turning bag until chicken is coated with crumbs. Repeat for remaining breasts.
Coat a baking sheet with cooking spray. Arrange chicken in a single layer and bake for 12–15 minutes, until exterior is golden and meat is firm and cooked through.

Take-home tip: You can oven “fry” shrimp using this same crispy coating and baking technique.

Technique: Oven frying
1. Crush plastic resealable bag full of baked potato chips with a rolling pin.

2. Coat chicken breast in garlic butter.

3. Place chicken breast in bag and seal.

4. Gently shake chicken breast in bag.

5. Bake until coating is golden and chicken is cooked through, about 15 minutes.

Macadamia-Crusted Salmon
Serves 4

Check out VIVmag‘s review of Let’s Get Primitive in our July/August 2007 issue!

Chili-Lime Roasted Corn on the Cob

• Juice of 1 lime
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 1 teaspoon chili powder
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 2 ears of corn, husked
• 2 squares aluminum foil, big enough to wrap corn

Directions: Prepare campfire and let it burn down to hot coals. (Or do the same with a charcoal grill.) Squeeze the lime juice into a resealable plastic bag and add the oil, chili powder and a pinch of salt and pepper. Seal and shake the bag thoroughly to mix. Set aside.

Place an ear of husked corn on top of each aluminum foil square. (Turn up the ends of the foil to make a boat for the juice.) Poke a hole in a corner of the bag and squeeze an equal amount of marinade onto each ear, reserving a little marinade to squeeze on just before you eat. Turn to fully coat the ears and wrap them tightly in foil. Place in the campfire (or grill) coals to roast for 8–10 minutes, turning occasionally to cook evenly.

To serve, remove foil and fashion into holders. Drizzle with additional lime marinade if desired.

Wheat berries may not be available in your local supermarket; check specialty stores such as Whole Foods and Trader Joe’s. You can also order gourmet goods online at Amazon.com.

Red Mountain Barley and Wheat Berry Pilaf
Serves 10

2 teaspoons olive oil
4 tablespoons chopped carrots
4 tablespoons chopped leeks
4 tablespoons chopped shallots
6½ ounces barley, uncooked
2½ ounces wheat berries, pre-soaked in water overnight
2¼ cups vegetable stock
5 ounces chopped mustard greens
Pinch of salt
Pinch of pepper

Directions: Pour olive oil into a wok or large frying pan over medium-high heat. Add carrots and sauté until tender. Add  leeks and continue sautéing until leeks have softened. Add shallots and sauté gently until flavor is released. Add barley, then wheat berries in vegetable stock and simmer, covered, for 45 minutes or until grains are al dente. Add mustard greens and cover for 1 minute. Season with salt and pepper to taste.