Barefoot Bloggers: Parmesan Chicken

Our next recipe with Barefoot Bloggers was Parmesan Chicken. This was another one I saw on Food Network but never quite got around to making.

With everything going on, I wasn't sure when I would get a chance to make the recipe and write my post so I did it at the first opportunity I could find. It was in the 90's for days and it was just too hot for me to turn anything on that produced heat in my kitchen. It rained and it cooled down a bit, so I jumped on the opportunity to make this and a batch of brownies. I've done the brownies so we'll focus on the Parmesan Chicken.

For the salad greens I used baby spinach and strawberries. The other stuff just didn't look good when I went shopping so that's what I got. The strawberries are local Lancaster county strawberries and they looked really good this weekend so I got 3 quarts. So everything has strawberries in it right now.

Since I had shredded Parmesan, I chopped it up a bit so that it wouldn't be big long pieces and added it to the bread crumbs.

Rather than pound the chicken I took the breasts and cut them into thin pieces. Each breast gave me about 3 thin pieces, parallel to the counter when you lay the breast out. This is also easier to handle because the pieces are smaller, rather than when you pound it thin it ends up being the size of your pan and it's awkward to flip.

The method is a pretty standard breading method: flour, egg, bread crumbs.

My presentation is a bit... different... because I made it to be taken to work for lunch. The spinach, strawberries and dressing are each packed separately to be put together when I eat and the chicken is wrapped in foil so I can warm it in the toaster oven and put everything together. So much better than one of those frozen Healthy Choice or whatever meals that lotsa people at work eats.



Parmesan Chicken by Ina Garten

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
1 recipe Lemon Vinaigrette, recipe followsPound 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.

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 pepperIn a small bowl, whisk together the lemon juice, olive oil, salt, and pepper.

Yield: 6 servings