Tuesday, August 5, 2008

The Advantages of Flat Breasts...



Chicken breasts that is.


Whenever you want a tender, perfectly cooked breaded chicken breast, I highly recommend pounding them to an even thickness. They cook quickly and evenly this way, and the crust gets delightfully crispy without the steam build up that can cause the crust to fall off.

This was the first dish I ever mastered. In college, I was so fed up with tepid, brown and unrecognizable cafeteria food, that I started buying food magazines and pouring through them, cover to cover. Before that time, I knew how to cook, but chose not to. Suddenly I couldn't stop thinking about it. So voluntarily immersed in food that I would dream about cooking, whenever the occasion arose to use a friends or relatives kitchen I snatched at it, and quickly became known as the resident foodie. When visiting my aunt and uncle in Florida, I made them this scaloppine dish, alongside a sundried tomato quick bread (back then I was afraid of yeast), and we finished with a Grand Marnier creme brulee. (BTW - I've noticed do not have any recipes for creme brulee posted - oh the horrors! Since it is my go to dessert for dinner parties I will be remedying this shortly!) They loved it and offered to fly me down whenever I wanted to cook for them!


This dish never fails to impress, even know that I'm known as a seasoned cook. Because everyone's had some version of Chicken Parmesan, they're all the more impressed to discover how good this classic can be. Plus, it takes next to no time to cook, making it an easy weeknight dinner (we're talking about 20 minutes here people!).

Scaloppine Parmigiana de Pollo
Serves 4.


4 chicken breasts, marinated in Italian dressing overnight
(Chicken is cheaper when bought in bulk. When I get home from the store, I separate my "club pack" into quart size freezer bags with 2 or 4 chicken breasts each, and pour in Italian dressing or other marinades, then I freeze it. Take it out of the freezer the night before to defrost, and as it thaws it will marinate! I love this trick!)

1 large egg
1 egg white

1 cup seasoned Italian breadcrumbs
1/4 cup grated parmigianno reggiano
2 Tbsp dried oregano
1 Tbsp Italian seasoning
1 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp ground black pepper
pinch of salt

3 Tbsp butter
3 Tbsp olive oil
(OK- so I never claimed this was low fat!)

1 lb. spaghetti

1 cup 4 Cheese Italian shredded cheese blend (or grated your own mozzarella, provolone, asiago and parmesan)
1/4 cup parmiggiano reggiano

1 jar of your favorite spaghetti sauce
2 Tbsp crushed garlic
1 Tbsp olive oil
1/4 cup good dry red wine
2 Tbsp fresh flat leaf parsley, chopped
1 Tbsp fresh basil, chiffonade

additional parsley, basil and parmiggiano for sprinkling

Preheat oven to 300 F. Pound chicken breasts flat between 2 sheets of plastic wrap using a meat mallet. You want them between a 1/2 inch and a 1/4 inch thick.

Place a stockpot 3/4 full with water on the stove on high to bring it to a boil. Use a lid to help it come to a boil faster.

Meanwhile, beat egg and egg white together in a shallow dish. In a seperate shallow dish, mix together dry ingredients for the breading. In a large nonstick skillet over high heat (yes - this needs to be turned ALL the way up!), combine butter and oil and preheat. Dredge Each piece of chicken in egg, then breadcrumbs, then place directly in the pan.

Cook on high until one side is golden brown, then flip and repeat. This should only take about a minute per side if you've pounded it thin. While they're cooking, you water should come to a boil and you can start cooking your spaghetti (I recommend heavily salting the water). Transfer chicken to a pyrex baking dish and top each breast with 1/4 cup cheese blend and sprinkle with parmiggiano. Place in oven for the cheese to melt.

Meanwhile, keep an eye on the spaghetti. Drain off any remaining oil and combine the sauce ingredients, except for the fresh herbs, in the skillet you used for the chicken. Simmer until spaghetti is done, drain spaghetti, then toss with sauce and herbs.

When the cheese has melted, serve chicken alongside pasta with some extra sauce on top. If your cheese has not melted by the time your pasta is ready, treat it to a little intense heat under the broiler until it's nice and bubbly.

Enjoy!

17 comments:

Jescel said...

i love chicken parmesan... this looks so yummy..

Mary Coleman said...

Laughed out loud when I saw your post title! Chix parm, as we called it in college, is the best comfort food around.

P said...

and you can leave some aggression by pounding the breasts! I love the presentation!

Anonymous said...

Hi there! My first time here!

I love the freezing/marinade trick. I'm going to do that!

And the name of your post is so awesome and creative. Not to mention the chicken looks fantastic.

Anonymous said...

I think you just gave me exactly what I was looking for for dinner tonight! Thanks!

Anonymous said...

Yum, I love chicken parmesan but have never made it before - I'll have to do so! I recently bought a meat mallet so that I could flatten out chicken breasts and pork chops .. I used to use a rolling pin but the mallet is much more efficient. :) Thanks for a great recipe!

grace said...

well, i'm certainly glad to know there's at least one advantage to having flat breasts...
you're hilarious, and an awesome cook to boot. this looks fantastic. :)

eatingclubvancouver_js said...

I'm scared of pounding meat. I know the benefits of it, but something about the act of actually pounding the meat scares me. Help! Because these chicken breasts look so delish.

una donna dolce said...

Eating club -

There's really nothing to it! I use plastic wrap to cover the counter and the meat. Get a good heavy mallet - I like this style:

http://www.target.com/gp/detail.html/601-5522422-0464141?ASIN=B0002T4ZA0&AFID=Froogle&LNM=B0002T4ZA0|Meat_Pounder&ci_src=14110944&ci_sku=B0002T4ZA0&ref=tgt_adv_XSG10001

because it lets you use less pressure. Just let the mallet come down on the thickest part of the meat, and let it slide outwards. Don't use too much force, go light and gradually increase the force behind it until you find the right amount. Always start from the center and work outwards.

Alternatively, you can slice the meat to size, but I'd rather have one large cutlet to deal with then several small ones.

Anonymous said...

Who doesn't love a good chicken parm? It's one of my favorites and yours is causing me to reconsider my plans for the chicken breasts I have in the fridge for tonight.

Something about the fact that I've been breastfeeding my daughter for the past 8 mos drew me to your post title... :-)

Beth (jamandcream) said...

I love the sound of this dish - all my fave things in one place

Deborah said...

I'm definitely a fan of the flat chicken breast, although I'm usually too lazy to pound them down. I usually just butterfly them, and it's lots easier! This looks like such a delicious recipe - makes me want to make it for dinner tonight!

food makes me happy said...

Hahahha I can't stop laughing about your title!

Joe Horn said...

Looks awesome. First time, came over from tastespotting. The pics look great. I will be back for sure!

Live.Love.Eat said...

Hi there, I came here from Practical Gourmet & love your site. All the pics are so awesome but I am loving the 2 cute piles of spaghetti. It was just so eye catching and it looks delicious to boot. Talk about presentation.....

Jersey Girl Cooks said...

This looks great! I like how you marinated the chicken first. I will have to try that.

Anonymous said...

Thanks for the receipe! I am about to try it now ;) The only thing I won't be doing is marinating the chicken as no time and also too much salt (although I am sure it makes it taste great!) Also, I don't salt the water for pasta as again I am watching my salt content. Sounds boring for a gal in her 30'ies, but my taste buds have adjusted. Thanks again!!!

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