Grilled Chicken Breast Stuffed with Goat Cheese with Smoked Chile Cilantro Sauce

Bobby Flay is my favorite Food Network personality.  He is the only one I find natural and normal in front of the camera.  Scot does not agree with me.  His favorite is Sandra Lee.  

;)

Anyways, Bobby is great.  And we have reservations to go to Mesa Grill when we are in NYC.  CANNOT WAIT.

The only problem with Bobby is that he is a restaurant chef.  And rich.  So, he isn't exactly good at coming up with recipes for the everyday person.  However, a meal like this is good to make every once in a while.  Spice things up.  

This meal was delicious.  It is a chicken breast stuffed with goat cheese, roasted red pepper, olives and some fresh thyme.  The sauce is a lot of things including poblano peppers, cilantro and spinach.  All blended up in the blender.

If you have never stuffed a chicken breast, you were probably born after 1978.  Jk!  Didn't mean to slam B. Flay.  Or stuffed chicken breasts.  I just feel like they are kind of old school.  And I also feel like they are usually served at weddings.  But I don't know what I am talking about.  And who doesn't like a little surprise?

Anyways, to stuff one, you want to take the chicken breast and pound it out to about 1/4th of inch thick.  Then, put the stuffing on one half, fold over, and secure with toothpicks.  

And lastly, I did not smoke my poblanos because I don't have a smoker and also I don't even really know what that means exactly.  I am sure you could find smoked poblanos somewhere, but I didn't even try.  So, I roasted mine.  And I love poblano peppers.  They are pretty mild.  Like really mild.  But for some reason when I clean them my hands still burn.  

We ate this with a warm Israeli couscous and grilled veggie salad.  

PS:  Yes, I totally flagged my chicken breast with parsley.  I figured it couldn't hurt.  

Grilled Chicken Breast Stuffed with Goat Cheese with Smoked Chile Cilantro Sauce

by Bobby Flay via Food Network

8 ounces soft goat cheese

1/4 cup chopped nicoise olives

1 red pepper, roasted, peeled, seeded and chopped

1 tablespoon fresh finely chopped thyme

Salt and freshly ground pepper

4 large boneless chicken breast, pounded thin

2 tablespoons olive oil

Preheat grill. Mix together the goat cheese, olives, red pepper and thyme in a small bowl and season with salt and pepper to taste. Lay each breast out and fill with the cheese mixture. Brush the breasts with the olive oil and season with salt and pepper to taste, secure with toothpicks. Grill for 8 to 10 minutes or until golden brown and cooked through. Serving with smoked chile-cilantro sauce below.

Smoked Chile-Cilantro Sauce

2 poblanos, smoked, peeled and seeded

1/4 cup red onion, coarsely chopped

2 tablespoons fresh lime juice

3/4 cup olive oil

1/4 cup spinach leaves

1/4 cup cilantro leaves

2 teaspoons honey

Salt and freshly ground pepper

In a blender, combine the poblanos, onion and lime juice and blend until smooth. While the blender is running, add the oil slowly until emulsified. Add the spinach and cilantro and blend until smooth. Add the honey and season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve at room temperature.

(Servings: 4, Prep time: 1 hr., Cook time: 12 min., Difficulty: Intermediate)

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