Easter dinner...in the most non-traditional way of course...

So, in my adult life I decided to do non-traditional dinners on holidays.  Sorry Mom!  I had given thought to making a ham and all the fixins.  And I do make a killer ham http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Bourbon-Glazed-Ham-2/Detail.aspx, but then I thought...we don't really want that do we??  NO WAY!!  We want something else!  Chicken Parmesan it is.

Parmesan Crusted Chicken

First things first...heat your oven to 450.

4 boneless skinless chicken breast cutlets (you can either buy them this way or make them out of 2 chicken breasts.  Just cut them in half and pound thin).
Whisk together 2 egg whites, 2 tsp cornstarch, and juice from half a lemon (trust me) in a shallow dish.
Combine 1 cup breadcrumbs, fresh or dried parsley, 1 tsp kosher salt, 1/4 tsp black pepper, zest of one lemon (again, trust me), and 1/2 cup parmesan cheese in a second shallow dish.
Dip chicken in egg white mixture, then in breadcrumb mixture (I really press it on), then let rest on a rack for 20-30 minutes to set the crust.  I set a cooling rack in a cookie sheet for this.

While chicken is sitting, make sauce.

Dice a small onion and cook in saucepan with a couple tbs of olive oil.   In blender combine 2 15 oz cans stewed tomatoes and 1 6 oz can tomato paste.  Blend to desired consistency, we like ours really blended.  Once onions are soft, add tomato mixture.  Then add your herbs and spices.  I use salt, pepper, a pinch of red pepper flakes, basil, oregano, thyme, and sugar.  You can play with the herbs and the amounts of them that you like.  I used to measure everything, but this time I didn't and it turned out really well!  I pulled a Rachel Ray and just measured in my palm.  Let the sauce simmer while you cook everything else. 

After this step is about when you want to start to boil your water for your pasta.

Time to cook the chicken.

Heat up 3 tbs olive oil over med-high heat in an oven proof skillet.  When ready, carefully lay chicken in skillet and cook for about 3 minutes or until golden brown.  Flip chicken over and place pan in oven for 8-10 minutes.  I usually do 8 since the cutlets are so thin and cook really quickly.   

Now it's all done and ready to eat!  Sorry that I didn't list it out like a typical recipe is.  Just kinda made sense this way.  To me at least.  LOL!

Here are a few tips, ideas, whatever.  When it comes to the breadcrumbs I have tried a few different things.  I have made homemade bread, used store bought bread, and used ready made breadcrumbs.  With the homemade bread and store bought bread, I cut it up into cubes and run it through my food processor.  I then spread the crumbs out onto a large sheet pan and bake in a 200 degree oven for about 15-20 minutes.  This dries them out so they make the most incredible crust on the chicken.  The one we all like the best is the homemade bread made into bread crumbs.  If you have the time, I HIGHLY recommend this.  The bread I like to make is from a cookbook that comes from a beautiful, quaint little restaurant in Fredricksburg Texas called The Peach Tree Tea Room.  The recipe is called Cynthia's Famous French Bread.  It is SO good.  As hard as I try, I will never be able to make it as good as they do but I give it my best shot!  Second in line is store bought bread to make your breadcrumbs with.  Choose a nice rustic type loaf with a chewy, but kinda soft crust like a ciabatta.  When you run them through the food processor, you don't want them all the same size.  A multitude of sizes is best.  What I like to do is process an entire loaf, dry them in the oven, then freeze them so they are all there ready to go next time I need them.  Last (and rightly so) my least favorite, and the one I will likely never do again, is use ready made breadcrumbs from the store.  Not even Panko.  It's just not as good.  Not even a little bit. 

On to the herbs and spices.  Use what you like.  There really isn't a science to it and you don't really need to measure it all.  I do suggest measuring the salt and pepper since there is nothing worse than an over salted dish.  I tend to use a tsp of salt and a 1/4 to a 1/2 tsp of pepper.  We really love black pepper.  Oh!  And yes, use both black and red pepper.  They hit different spots on the tongue and it's amazing.  We like the mix of parsley, basil, oregano, and thyme.  You could use Italian Seasoning if you like, but I'm not a huge fan of it for this.  You could play around with rosemary, marjoram, whatever you want really.  Have fun with it!  I don't usually have fresh on hand so dried it is.  I'm changing that soon though as I'm going to grow an herb garden.  Can't wait for that!  Another suggestion is smell all the herbs before you put them in.  It will help give you an idea of what you like and don't like.  I'm a HUGE smeller.  I smell everything.  lol   

I opted to put some basil pesto on mine tonight!  SO GOOD!

I hope you like it.  Let me know if you try it!

Breakfast from my childhood

It's WAY past time to get this blog thing going, so what better way to start it off.  By talking about food!  A couple of months ago I went to visit my darling mother and she made me a breakfast I hadn't had since I was a child.  Eggs in a Hole!  It's so simple and oh, so good.  I do mine just a touch different than her.  Here's what I do.

First, I cook up the yummy bacon.  Once that is done, I pour off most of the grease.  (You can always save this to use in other recipes.  I suggest in a metal container like a coffee can.)  While the bacon is frying, prep your bread.  Butter it up, I only do one side actually.  Then I simply take a cup or a biscuit cutter and press it into the bread and remove the circle from the middle.  Save these though!

Then, take your bread slices and place it in what is left of the bacon drippings butter side up.  Then carefully crack your egg and put it in the hole.  Sprinkle with salt and pepper.  Let this cook for a bit then flip over carefully.  Let this side cook to your desired doneness...is that even a word?  lol  Don't forget to brown up your bread circles.

That's it!  Like I said, SO simple and it is so good!