Bistro Chicken Twist

This recipe comes from The Pampered Chef All the Best cookbook. I highly recommend this cookbook since it has a nice variety of recipes & shows creative ways to "shape" your food. If you're familiar with Pampered Chef recipes, then you're probably already aware that they have recipes that shape your main dish into a ring, wreath, or braid. This cookbook shows all 3 shapes & a variety of ways to use them.

Bistro Chicken Twist

1 cup chopped cooked chicken (as always, I threw some frozen chicken breast in the crock pot the night before)

1/2 cup diced red bell pepper (I had frozen leftover from the garden & used that rather than buying fresh in the middle of winter)

1/4 cup snipped fresh basil leaves

1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons (1 1/2 ounces) grated fresh Parmesan cheese, divided

1/2 cup (2 ounces) shredded mozzarella cheese

1/4 cup mayonnaise (I used low fat & it worked fine)

1 garlic clove, pressed (I use minced garlic in a jar, either works)

2 packages (11 ounces each) refrigerated French bread dough (I made 2 braids, the other I used dough made in my bread machine, it worked pretty well)

1 egg white, lightly beaten

1 teaspoon Italian seasoning

Preheat oven to 375. Combine chicken, bell pepper, basil, 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese, mozzarella cheese, mayonnaise and garlic; mix well. I let mine sit covered over night in the refrigerator so that it wouldn't take as much time to make the next day, it worked very well doing this.

Place bread dough, seam sides up, on cutting board. Using a serrated knife, slice each loaf lengthwise, end to end, cutting halfway through to center of loaf; spread open flat. Lightly sprinkle flour evenly over dough. Roll dough crosswise to a 4-inch width, creating a well down the center of each loaf.

Spoon half of the mixture of the chicken down the center of each loaf. (see picture below) Gather up edges over filling, pinching firmly to seal. Place loaves, seam sides down, in an "X" pattern on baking sheet. Crisscross ends of dough to form a large figure "8," keeping ends of dough 1 inch from edge of baking sheet and leaving two 1 1/2-inch openings in center of twist.

Combine egg white and seasoning mix; lightly brush over dough. Cut 3-inch slit in each of the top sections of the twist to reveal filling. Sprinkle remaining 2 tablespoons Parmesan cheese over loaf.

Bake 30-32 minutes or until deep golden brown. Remove from oven; cool 10 minutes.

Yield: 8-10 servings.

Variation: Pepperoni Pizza Twist

For filling, combine 1 package (3.5 ounces) pepperoni slices, diced

1 can (3.25 ounces) pitted ripe olives, drained & chopped

1/2 cup (2 ounces) shredded mozzarella cheese

2 tablespoons snipped fresh parsley

2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1 pressed garlic clove

Continue as recipe above directs starting with cutting the French bread. Sprinkle the loaf with 2 tablespoons grated fresh Parmesan cheese before baking.