Bistro Chicken Twist

I recently bought one of the Pampered Chef cookbooks, All the Best, and there were a few recipes in it I wanted to try. Today, Jesse came me a reason to when he asked for something to take into work with him. A couple of months ago, I was browsing through a copy and found this recipe and it looked really interesting. It didn’t seem like it would be that hard and it wasn’t.

Although, I’ll be honest, I did totally screw up one thing, but if anyone is able to notice it, I’ll be shocked. The recipe calls for 2 packages of refrigerated French bread dough (and the only place I found it was in the Pillsbury section) to make the twists, but I only ended up using one. I misread the second direction and for some reason it didn’t dawn on me that I was suppose to be cutting two loaves slightly in half and not one loaf completely in half. Either way, it turned out fine. It might not be as bready as it was suppose to be, but I think it turned out rather well.

Jesse and I did try a piece tonight (since it was smelling really good) and it was good. It was a bit salty for me, but that’s mainly the Pillbury dough. A lot of their dough is salty and if I could find a different French dough mix, I would probably try that instead of going back to Pillsbury. I do NOT know how it would turn out if I made the dough from scratch, so if anyone tries, let me know.

I did do one other change. Quite a few of Jesse’s coworkers are vegetarians and I don’t always think of that when I send something in. So this time, I made two of these puppies, but the second one, I substituted broccoli florets for the chicken. I haven’t tasted that one, so I’m not sure how it came out, but the mixture really didn’t look any different than the chicken mixture. So I’m thinking it was a success.

The one thing I would recommend, I used my small scoop to spoon the mixture on the dough and it worked really well. It made it very easy to ensure that each half ended up with the same amount and I was still able to get all the sides closed up.

Ingredients:
1 cup chopped cooked chicken
1/2 cup diced red bell pepper
1/4 cup snipped fresh basil leaves
1/4 cup plus 2 tbsp (1-1/2oz) grated fresh Parmesan cheese, divided
1/2 cup (2oz) shredded mozzarella cheese
1/4 cup mayonnaise
1 garlic clove, pressed
2 pkgs (11oz) Pillsbury refrigerated French bread dough
1 egg white, lightly beaten
1 tsp Italian seasoning mix

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Chop chicken using Food Chopper. Dice bell pepper using Chef’s Knife. Snip basil using Kitchen Shears. In Classic Batter Bowl, combine chicken, bell pepper, basil, ¼ cup of the Parmesan cheese, mozzarella cheese, mayonnaise and garlic pressed with Garlic Press; mix well.
Place bread dough, seam sides up, on smooth side of Large Grooved Cutting Board. Using Serrated Bread Knife, slice each loaf lengthwise, end to end, cutting halfway through to center of loaf; spread open flat. Lightly sprinkle flour evenly over dough. Using Baker’s Roller, roll dough crosswise to a 4-inch width, creating a well down center of each loaf.
Spoon half of the chicken mixture down center of each loaf. Gather up edges over filling, pinching firmly to seal. Place loaves, seam sides down, in an “X” pattern on Rectangle Stone. Crisscross ends of dough to form a large figure “8”, keeping ends of dough 1 inch from edge of stone and leaving two 1-1/2 inch openings in center of twist.
Combine egg white and seasoning mix; lightly brush over dough. Cut a 3-inch slit in each of the top sections of the twist to reveal filling. Sprinkle remaining 2 tbsp Parmesan cheese over loaf. Bake 30-32 minutes or until deep golden brown. Remove from oven; cool 10 minutes.

Yield: 8 servings

Nutrients per serving: Calories 300, Total Fat 10g, Saturated Fat 3g, Cholesterol 20mg, Carbohydrate 38g, Protein 15g, Sodium 650mg, Fiber 0g
U.S. Diabetic exchanges per serving: 2½ starch, 1 meat, ½ fat (2½ carb)

Variation: Pepperoni Pizza Twist – for filling, combine 1 pkg diced pepperoni slices, 1 can pitted ripe olives (drained and chopped), ½ cup shredded mozzarella cheese, 2 tbsp snipped fresh parsley, 2 tbsp all-purpose flour and 1 pressed garlic clove. Continue as recipe directs in Steps 2 through 4. Sprinkle the loaf with 2 tbsp grated fresh Parmesan cheese before baking.