Parmesan Chicken

Parmesan chicken is on heavy rotation in my house.  This is one of my family's top favorite dinners.  It's simple, its quick and delicious.  A crowd pleaser.  One thing I love about it (as the primary cook in this house) is that it's great for a quick dinner for 2 or can easily feed a crowd.   I can put the cutlets in a low temperature oven to hold them while I make more cutlets.  I can cook them in advance and warm them just before serving dinner.  It's flavorful enough to be the star of the show with a simple salad, but I've also made this as a stand in for "fried chicken" and served it with macaroni and cheese, beans and cole slaw.

When I first heard "parmesan chicken" on Barefoot Contessa, I thought of heavily breaded chicken topped with heavy marinara and a blanket of gooey melted mozzarella.  It did not strike me as an elegant meal that Ina Garten would serve.  But I watched anyhow, and instead I discovered a lovely alternative to grilled chicken. Sure, its breaded and cooked in oil.  But this is not at all heavy like a chicken parmesan.  

Of course, Ina makes her own breadcrumbs and for a quick weeknight meal, I do not.  I will use whatever boxed breadcrumbs I have on hand (even Panko), if I don't have any home made breadcrumbs in the freezer.  The crunchiness you get from the addition of grated parmesan cheese is what makes this chicken so delicious.   And I like to add lemon zest as well, which compliments the lemon vinaigrette I typically use on the salad.

You can use chicken breast, chicken tenders or even diced chicken to make nuggets.  This recipe is elegant enough for a dinner party, and yummy enough for a kid's birthday party.

Parmesan Chicken
recipe courtesy of Barefoot Contessa Family Style, by Ina Garten


4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
2 extra large eggs
1 1/4 cups seasoned dry bread crumbs
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese, plus extra for serving
3 Tablespoons chopped fresh parsley, optional (or chives, or whatever herbs you have hanging around)
zest of 1 lemon, optional
unsalted butter
extra virgin olive oil

Pound the chicken breasts until they are 1/4 inch thick.  (I usually ask the butcher to do it for me!)

Combine the flour, salt, and pepper in a shallow bowl.  In a second bowl, beat the eggs.  In a third bowl, combine the bread crumbs, Parmesan cheese, parsley and lemon zest.  Coat the chicken on both sides in the flour, then dip both sides in the egg mixture, and finally dredge both sides in the bread crumb mixture, pressing lightly to adhere.

Heat 1 tablespoon of butter and 1 tablespoon of oil in a large sautee pan and cook 2-3 breasts on medium low heat for 2-3 minutes per side, or until cooked through.  Add more butter and oil as you cook each new batch.  You can keep the chicken breasts warm for 15 minutes on a sheet pan in a 200 degree oven.
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