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

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• 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:

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• 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!)

Rachael's Lemon Chicken

This is one of JT and my favorite recipes. The first time I made it, I was at the store, in the CHECKOUT line, when JT called and asked if I could make it. I was very hesitant. (Hey, the lines were long!) But am I ever glad I did? This is an Undomestic Kitchen staple now. JT even asked for it twice in one week once, which if you know him, means it's GOOD!

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 pounds chicken breast or chicken tenders, cut into (Bitesize) chunks
• 1/4 cup all-purpose unbleached flour
• Coarse salt
• 2 tablespoons wok or vegetable oil, 2 turns of the pan (Rachael's preferred brand: House of Tsang)
• 1 tablespoon (a splash) white or rice wine vinegar
• 1/2 cup chicken broth or stock
• 8 ounces (1 cup) prepared lemon curd
• 1/4 cup hot water
• 1 lemon, zested
• 2 scallions, thinly sliced or 20 blades fresh chives, finely chopped

Directions

Coat the chunked chicken lightly in flour, seasoned with a little salt. Heat a large skillet or a wok-shaped nonstick pan over high heat. (I used EVOO because I wanted the chicken to stick a little bit to my pan. It's the best flavor in the dish!) Stir fry chicken until golden, 3 or 4 minutes. Remove chicken from the pan and return pan to heat. Reduce heat to medium.

Add a splash of vinegar to the pan and let it evaporate. Add stock or broth to the pan and scrape up any drippings with a whisk. (Like I said, this is the best taste in the whole dish.) Thin curd by stirring in a little hot water. (I whisked mine with a fork to thin it up) Add curd to broth and whisk to combine. Add chicken back to the pan and simmer for 1 to 2 minutes to thicken sauce and finish cooking chicken pieces through. Remove the pan from heat, add the scallions or chives and zest, and toss chicken pieces well to combine zest and scallions or chives evenly throughout the sauce.

Rachael's Notes: Wok oil infused with ginger and garlic is usually available on the International Foods aisle in many markets.

Chicken broths and stocks are available in resealable paper containers, making storage of remaining product easy and on hand in the refrigerator; they are found in the soup aisle.

Lemon curd is a sweet lemon spread available in most markets. It is on the jam/jelly aisle. (I wouldn't have known!)

I serve this over brown rice or couscous that I've added some chopped scallions to. With each bite, you get a punch of sweet lemony flavor rounded off nicely by the chicken flavor and topped with an greenoniony zing. I love it!

Freestyle Chicken Soup

This recipe varies every time, but here is the original post I wrote about it. I was so excited because it was my first "freestyle" recipe!

I started with organic chicken stock -- the biggest plastic carton they have. My pot was filled about halfway. Trimmed, browned and shredded a package of boneless/skinless chicken thighs, chopped carrots, celery, a whole onion, and added a drained can of stewed tomatoes. Oh, and you know those little plastic cartons of locally grown herbs? I chopped up a carton of basil (removed stems) and put the ENTIRE carton in my soup -- probably about a cup and a half! I boiled this mix and added a little cilantro powder, a bit more garlic powder, and sea salt and cracked black pepper to taste. That simmered for about twenty minutes and then I brought it up to a boil again and added half a bag of egg noodles for five minutes before I brought it back down to a simmer and served a few minutes later.