Saturday, September 5, 2009

Parmesan Chicken

Parmesan Chicken
copyright Food Network

Original Recipe

At first glance, this recipe had two strikes. One, I'm a huge traditional Chicken Parmesan fan and was skeptical about a tomato-less dish. Secondly, I don't normally use Ina Garten aka Barefoot Contessa recipes, but my mom made this one and JT insisted that I reproduce it the next week. He says it tastes a lot like Wiener schnitzel and it's one of his favorites I have made. But I can guarantee you, it's A LOT easier to make, it just uses a lot of dishes! No big deal. Andrea and Jason also said they liked this recipe.

This is fast, easy, and good for hosting guests. Just make it ahead of time, clean your kitchen, and reheat (just the chicken) in the oven while you're preparing the greens just before serving. I serve the chicken atop the greens and lemon vinaigrette. The lemon cuts the hearty, crunchy chicken nicely.

Ingredients

  • 4 to 6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
  • 1 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
  • 2 extra-large eggs
  • 1 tablespoon water
  • 1 1/4 cups seasoned dry bread crumbs
  • 1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan, plus extra for serving
  • Unsalted butter
  • Good olive oil
  • Salad greens for 6, washed and spun dry (buy the bag; makes life easier!)
  • 1 recipe Lemon Vinaigrette, recipe follows

Directions

Pound the chicken breasts until they are 1/4-inch thick. You can use either a meat mallet or a rolling pin.

Combine the flour, salt, and pepper on a dinner plate. On a second plate, beat the eggs with 1 tablespoon of water. On a third plate, combine the bread crumbs and 1/2 cup grated Parmesan. Coat the chicken breasts on both sides with the flour mixture, then dip both sides into the egg mixture and dredge both sides in the bread-crumb mixture, pressing lightly. (Make sure they are completely coated with each. Also, use one hand to dip in dry ingredients and the other for the eggs and you won't have breadcrumb paste to peel off your fingers.)

Heat 1 tablespoon of butter and 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a large saute pan and cook 2 or 3 chicken breasts on medium-low heat for 2 to 3 minutes on each side, until cooked through. Add more butter and oil and cook the rest of the chicken breasts. Toss the salad greens with lemon vinaigrette. Place a mound of salad on each hot chicken breast. Serve with extra grated Parmesan.

Lemon Vinaigrette:

  • 1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice (2 lemons)
  • 1/2 cup good olive oil
  • 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

In a small bowl, whisk together the lemon juice, olive oil, salt, and pepper. (I did not measure, just combined this to taste. My mom used these measurements and I thought it was too lemony and not thick enough. Just me, though!)

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