Rosemary & Lemon Saucy Brie Chicken

I love trying to dream up new dishes using herbs from my garden. Rosemary is hands down my favorite Herb. I wanted to create a hearty chicken dish that was filling but, not overbearingly heavy. I spied some fresh lemons in my kitchen and my idea for a White Rosemary & Lemon Cream Sauce was falling into place. I started cooking the sauce and the smell from the rosemary and lemon was intoxicating. As I assembled the chicken and sauce into a smaller casserole dish I decided it needed a slightly salty, cheesy kick - that's when I remembered I had some beautiful hickory smoked Aloutte Brie in the fridge! Score!! The perfect topping. I might kick in more rosemary and lemon next time and spoon it over pasta - its a saucy dish - and needed some noodles to rest upon.  Enjoy! ~ Diane

Rosemary & Lemon Saucy Brie Chicken

2 Cups Cooked Chicken, Shredded 
1 Tbs Butter
1 Tbs Flour
2 Cups Cream
4-5 Sprigs, Rosemary
2 tsp Lemon Zest
Salt & Pepper to taste
5-6 slices of Brie cheese (I use Aloutte Smoked Baby Brie) 
*serve plain or spoon over prepared pasta.

Preheat oven to 350.
Melt butter in a sauté pan or pot, stir in flour and 
cook the flour/butter mixture until flour browns and smells nutty. Add the 2 cups of cream and 2-3 full sprigs of rosemary in the pan and raise the heat slightly, constantly stirring until sauce starts to thicken. 
Add 1 Tbs minced, fresh rosemary and 2 tsp of zested, lemon to sauce *keep stirring (lower heat to 'low' if cream starts to bubble too much) Let sauce simmer approx 5 mins. on 'low' so that the rosemary can steep in the cream. (You will remove the full sprigs of rosemary before assembling the casserole) Salt & Pepper the sauce to taste.

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Lightly oil baking dish with olive oil.
Place cooked shredded chicken in bottom of dish and pour your rosemary cream sauce over the top, break up brie into small squares and place around top of dish. Bake uncovered for 20 mins.

** Serve hot over prepared pasta or wild rice. 
**If you want the chicken a bit more "lemony" squeeze a bit of lemon juice over prepared casserole before baking.

Recipe & Photos by: Diane Baker for Canning and Cooking at Home