Sundays For Sarah-Love Birds - Chicken in Pastry

The first thing I want to share with you today is that Sarah has made it to the first "benchmark" set by her doctor...29 weeks gestation! Whooo-hoooo! When I spoke with her earlier today, she sounded incredibly relieved and joyous to have reached this monumental point. This is certainly cause for celebration and to extend a gracious thank you to everyone who has lifted Sarah and her family up in your thoughts and prayers. Please continue to pray for the health and growth of baby Hannah and for Sarah to remain patient, calm and relaxed during her time of bed rest. Also, please keep Mike (her husband) in your thoughts as he takes on more responsibilities at home, that he not become overwhelmed and for Josh ( her precious little boy) that he understands some of the limitations that his Mommy has but never questions her unconditional, unmeasurable and unending love for him.

Now, for the food portion of our weekly adventure. This week's recipe is another selection from Rachel Ray that she prepared this week on Food Network. She prefaced this recipe preparation as a great dish to fix for an anniversary or engagement celebration, so this was a perfect selection to celebrate Sarah's milestone of 29 weeks.

This recipe was a lot of fun to prepare and came together incredibly easy. You have to love recipes that posses those characteristics. This would certainly be a great dish to serve for a small dinner party since it takes such little time to get into the oven to bake. The original recipe calls for fontina cheese, but I couldn't find it in two grocery stores, so I opted to use provolone for it's mild flavor that would not overwhelm the fig preserves. And speaking of fig preserves....oh my, I fell in love with the stuff and it was a perfect addition to the chicken and cheese. Wrap all that up in a delicious puff pastry and you have savory, culinary success. Mmmmm.

Sarah, thank you for allowing me to share your family's story through this blog. I can't wait to see what blessings are in store for you and your family with all the thoughts and prayers that are being said on your behalf.

Love Birds - Chicken in Pastry

4 pieces skinless chicken breast, boned (about 8 ounces each)

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

2 to 3 springs fresh finely chopped rosemary

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

1 sheet puff pastry (11 by 17-inch)

8 sliced Italian fontina cheese, slices should be 2 to 3-inches square and 1/4 to 1/2-inch thick)

1/2 cup fig preserves

1 egg mixed with 1 tablespoon water-for egg wash

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

Season the chicken with salt, pepper and rosemary. Cut each piece of chicken in half across the breast giving you 8 equal portions. Heat the oil in a nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Lightly brown the chicken on both sides, 5 minutes total. Remove from heat.

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Cut pastry into 8 pieces. Place a piece of cheese on each pastry square and top with spoonfuls of fig preserves and the chicken pieces. Pinch and seal the dough up and over the meat and cheese. Seal with egg wash, flip the pastry packets over and brush the tops with remaining egg wash. Bake 12 to 15 minutes, until golden.

For entire portions, simply leave chicken breast whole and cut the pastry into quarters. Trim off excess dough and use it to decorate the pastry with small cut outs such as heart shapes.

Source: Food Network