June 26, 2008

Barefoot Bloggers- Ina's Chicken Parmesan

This week's Barefoot Bloggers recipe was chosen by Megan and it was a great choice! I have to say, I've made this chicken several times and love it every time. So while this wasn't something new for me, it was fun to have a good excuse to make it again.

Ina recommends serving this with a lemon vinaigrette but I prefer Emeril's basic balsamic vinaigrette and think it's a good, tangy complement to this chicken. Another good variation is to pound out the chicken and make it into chicken cordon bleu. Yum.

I do have one recommendation, though. I usually try to cut back on oil and pare down my recipes when I can, but this is one Barefoot Contessa recipe where I really agree with Ina about all the fat needed. This time around on the chicken I skimped on the oil in the pan and the chicken didn't brown as well or hold onto the topping quite how it should have. Add a few minutes to your workout and add all the oil, in my opinion! :)

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 (I use large and add a little milk or water to make up the difference)
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 follows

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.

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.

9 comments:

  1. Totally agree with the need for the fat in this one! It makes it oh so crispy and delicious! It looks great and the other variations sound wonderful as well.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Your dish looks scrumptious! Thanks for the alternative serving suggestions. Great info.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Looks wonderful on top of the salad - a great easy dinner.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Looks wonderful!

    ReplyDelete
  5. How did I miss this food blogging event, we love butterfoot. I have made this chicken recipe before - so good!!!

    ReplyDelete
  6. I'm catching up on all your posts. The pie crusts look so heavenly-especially as the base for your pretty quiche. Your little cobbler-ettes look scrumptious and now on to the chicken. So yummy. I loved mine. Looks wonderful!

    ReplyDelete
  7. lol! add a few minutes to your work out! So true!

    Your chicken looks delicious! Great job!

    ReplyDelete
  8. I so wanted to join the Barefoot Bloggers group as Ina's recipes are such a delight every time I read about them. Still, after reading the rules I realised I couldn't apply :(. Your chicken parmesan looks as scrumptious as all of Ina's recipes.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Thought I'd let you know that I made this tonight for dinner. Except for my kids, I put over pasta. It was a HUGE hit! Love the blog!

    ReplyDelete