RECIPE: EASY CHICKEN MILANESE (CHICKEN CUTLETS)

One of my all time favorite dishes from my travels to Argentina is Chicken Milanese. We call it Chicken Cutlets here in the states. It is one of the easiest and best ways to fry chicken and it is so good, too! You can skip the flour, if you prefer, and start with the egg but if you do, be certain to season your breadcrumbs with salt and pepper. Best of all, you can make a big batch of these and freeze some for later. After you have coated the chicken, simply spread them out on a pan lined with parchment paper and freeze for 8 hours. Then place them in a freezer bag and use them when you need to get dinner on the table fast!

EASY CHICKEN MILANESE

Easy Chicken Milanese (Chicken Cutlets/Thin Chicken Breasts) are so fast, so easy, and so good!

Special tools: plastic wrap, meat mallet or other utensil for pounding, I use a rolling pin

INGREDIENTS

6 boneless chicken breasts, get thin ones if you can find them

1 cup all purpose flour

3 eggs, beaten

2 cups Panko breadcrumbs

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon ground pepper

1 teaspoon Herbs de Provence, or a mix of dried thyme and rosemary

Oil for frying, canola is good or a mixture of canola and olive oil is nice

Serve with marinara, arugula, Parmesan cheese shards, lemon wedges

DIRECTIONS:

If the breasts are very thick, butterfly them before you start or slice in half, across the middle (horizontally) to create two pieces. Place plastic wrap on the counter. I use a ziptop bag with the sides cut open because it is thicker and does not tear. Place the chicken breast in the center on one side and cover with the other side. Use a mallet or other tool, (I use a rolling pin) to pound the chicken but don’t be aggressive or tear it. It should be about 1/2 inch thick.

Set up a baking sheet with a wire rack on top.

Set up a dredge station using shallow dishes: one for the flour, one for the egg, and one for the breadcrumbs. Add salt and pepper to the flour and mix together. Add the Herbs de Provence to the breadcrumbs and stir to mix. Take 1/2 cup of the breadcrumbs and put in a zip top bag. Roll over them or use your mallet to crush them a bit so they are a finer texture than the Panko. Return to the dish and stir to mix.

Dredge the chicken, one piece at a time in the flour. Shake off excess. Dip both sides into the beaten eggs, shake off excess. Place in the breadcrumbs and press down slightly, making sure both sides are well coated with breadcrumbs. Shake off excess.

Remove to the wire rack and complete the other five pieces in the same way. It is better if the chicken sits for 10 minutes before frying.

Add oil to your pan, you will need to add enough to go about 1/4 inch up the side of the pan. For my pan, it was a 1/2 cup.

Bring the oil to 350˚ Fahrenheit, or when it waves, but not smoking. If you get it too hot, turn off the burner for a few minutes and let it cool down before frying or you’ll burn the breadcrumbs before the chicken is completely done inside. The chicken is very thin, so it only takes about 3 minutes per side. Let it brown completely before turning.

Remove to the prepared rack but don’t put it on paper towels or you will have a soggy rather than crunchy exterior.

Serve with arugula, shaved Parmesan chards, lemon, and my easy Marriage Proposal Marinara. Okay to use store bought marinara or whatever you have.

RECIPE: MARRIAGE PROPOSAL MARINARA SAUCE

Some of you may remember this from Food Network Star…

For one of the episodes, we had to open a pop-up restaurant for guests at New York’s South Street Seaport. My team was challenged with the Italian restaurant. We called it “Littler Italy” and we each had to contribute a dish. Our team won the challenge, which was pretty sweet considering there were Italian chefs on the other teams. The best part of the night came when one of the guests got down on one knee and asked me to marry him saying that he always had known if he found someone who could make marinara better than his Italian mama’s, he would ask her to get married. Although it was a joke, it did make me happy to know he thought this recipe was just that good.

“MARRIAGE PROPOSAL” MARINARA SAUCE

INGREDIENTS

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 onion, chopped

4 cloves garlic, minced

3 large cans (28 ounces) whole peeled tomatoes, including liquid

1 cup fresh whole basil leaves, loosely packed

1 1/2 tablespoons fresh thyme leaves (about 1/2 tablespoon dried)

1/2  cup fresh whole oregano leaves, loosely packed (about 1 tablespoon dried)

2 teaspoons kosher salt

big pinch granulated sugar (optional)

½ teaspoon black pepper

pinch cayenne pepper

splash Balsamic vinegar

DIRECTIONS:

Heat olive oil in the bottom of a large pot. Add onion and cook for 5 minutes until translucent and softened. Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute. Use some of the liquid from the tomatoes to deglaze the pan, and then add the remaining ingredients. Use an immersion blender to puree, taking care to leave the tomatoes slightly chunky. (If you don’t have an immersion blender, you can add everything to a blender or food processor)

Bring to a boil and cook for 5 minutes, stirring frequently to keep from burning on the bottom. Reduce heat to low and cook for 1 hour or longer so that the marinara thickens as some of the liquid cooks out. Check seasoning prior to serving. Add salt or a pinch more sugar as necessary.

RECIPE: BUSHWACKER FROZEN COCKTAIL

Summertime… the time of year for a frozen cocktail on the deck, dock- or maybe just in the backyard. There are tons of frozen drinks to choose from but here in Alabama, the unofficial state cocktail is the Bushwacker. You can find them at many places around L.A. (Lower Alabama) and while the recipes are all a little different, the basics are the same: chocolate syrup, vanilla ice cream, and rum. While most places drizzle chocolate syrup inside the wall of the glass as seen in the photo from Sunset Pointe in Fairhope, Alabama on the left, the world-famous Flora-Bama does not add chocolate to the glass but adds the chocolate to the ice cream.

You can dress these up for a summer dessert with whipped cream and chocolate shavings. Some places offer a “float” on top of 150 proof rum but proceed with caution as this takes the drink from fun to potent.

BUSHWACKER FROZEN COCKTAIL

Yield: 2-4 drinks, depending on the portion size

INGREDIENTS

1-pint vanilla ice cream, softened

1/2 cup half and half

1/3 cup chocolate syrup plus more to drizzle the glass

4 ounces light rum, chilled

1/2 ounce 150-proof rum on top, optional

Whipped cream, optional

DIRECTIONS:

Mix ingredients in a blender with a small amount of ice. Pour into glasses which have been drizzled with chocolate syrup, if using. Float the 150-proof rum on top, if using. Add whipped cream and more chocolate syrup or chocolate shavings, if desired.