I have been waiting all month to make Ina’s Parmesan Chicken! Why I put it off until the night before posting day, I don’t know…but it was SO good!!! I have to send a big shout-out to Megan of My Baking Adventures for choosing this awesome recipe! You really should go check out what Megan’s doing over there – she makes her BB recipes with her kids, Sabrina and Alexander. They even have their own blog where they share their cooking experiences with everyone. Sabrina and Alexander get to choose July’s first recipe, which will be announced on Monday, June 30th. Can’t wait!

So back to the Parmesan Chicken. It was great. All of the comments in the Musings post were glowing reviews so I was even more psyched up about it when it came time to make it last night. The whole recipe came together very easily. I’ve been trying to cut back on buying store-bought breadcrumbs because of the preservatives so I made my own last night with some whole wheat bread. Not a good idea. I think the bread was too fresh and the coating much preferred to stick to the bottom of the pan rather than the chicken. Oh well. The cooked up coating crumbles were nice and crunchy and added some good texture to the dish.

The chicken itself was wonderful. I would never have thought to top a breaded chicken cutlet with a little salad but it really worked and the combination of the lemon vinaigrette and chicken was to die for. Just so good. The vinaigrette was not overpowering at all (as I had expected it could be) but lent just enough subtle flavor to the salty chicken (salty from the Parmesan cheese) to really bring the two flavors together.

I halved the recipe and used 3 boneless skinless chicken breasts but ended up needing a little extra breadcrumbs/Parmesan mixture. The 1/2 amount of vinaigrette was the perfect amount for 3 pieces of chicken but I think I would reduce the olive oil by a tablespoon or so. I’ll definitely be making this one again soon but will be sure to dry out my breadcrumbs first.

Thanks again to Megan for choosing this great recipe!!

Next month’s recipe will be chosen by Sabrina and Alexander of Cooking with the Kids and Ashley of The Spicy Skillet. Be sure to check out Barefoot Bloggers to see next month’s recipes as well as to see how the rest of the growing group (now 80 strong!!) did this week with the Parmesan Chicken.

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Parmesan Chicken

source: Ina Garten, Barefoot Contessa Family Style

Ingredients:

  • 4 to 6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
  • 1 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
  • 2 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 follows

Instructions:

  1. Pound the chicken breasts until they are 1/4-inch thick. You can use either a meat mallet or a rolling pin.
  2. 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.
  3. 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:

Ingredients:

  • 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 pepper

Instructions:

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

Yield: 6 servings

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Leave a Comment

  • BMK
    June 26, 2008 at 7:58 AM

    Great recipe and great photos! I know we will be making this one again! FYI if you have a Whole Foods near you, they sell fresh made bread crumbs without all of the preservatives.

  • June 26, 2008 at 8:06 AM

    How delicious does that look!! I’ll definitely have to make this soon.

  • June 26, 2008 at 8:26 AM

    Looks so good and I know it tasted great! Thanks for starting this group!

  • June 26, 2008 at 10:02 AM

    Looks amazing…lovely pictures!

  • jesstyler
    June 26, 2008 at 10:26 AM

    yum, yum, yum! Good tip about the bread crumbs from BMK … And I’ll have to try the dressing with a little less oil … I think ours had too much dressing for the little bit of salad we had.

  • jbw1203
    June 26, 2008 at 11:03 AM

    Lokks delicious! Great job!

  • June 26, 2008 at 11:52 AM

    I actually keep the heels of bread in the freezer just for making breadcrumbs!

  • June 26, 2008 at 1:38 PM

    This one’s going into the rotation. Love that golden color!

  • June 26, 2008 at 2:55 PM

    Yours looks so good. I didnt make the salad but with your glowing report, I’ll have to do it again with the salad!

  • June 26, 2008 at 3:14 PM

    Yum! We loved this too. I also made my own breadcrumbs using crackers and they seemed to stick ok to the chicken. Bummer about the ww bread….although I must confess I do the crunchy pieces left in the pan 🙂

  • June 26, 2008 at 6:57 PM

    This looks wonderful – the chicken is so crispy and golden brown.

  • Cathy
    June 26, 2008 at 6:58 PM

    That looks so amazing – With the wonderful clarity in the pictures it is hard not to stick my fork thru the computer screen for a bite!!

    BMK Thanks for the whole food tip I did not know that. They are something you should always have on hand. I also use Panko Bread crumbs alot and they have a great texture as well.

    Cheers
    Cathy
    http://www.wheresmydamnanswer.com

  • Melissa
    June 26, 2008 at 7:29 PM

    I love the first picture! This really was a great recipe!

  • June 26, 2008 at 7:35 PM

    Your Parmesan Chicken looks delicious! Great photos!

  • June 26, 2008 at 8:23 PM

    I always think I’ll make my own breadcrumbs too but I can never seem to plan it so the bread is stale enough. Great pictures and great job–another wonderful recipe and turnout!

  • June 27, 2008 at 11:27 AM

    Beautiful, delicious recipe. We loved ours! Yours looks fab!

  • June 27, 2008 at 11:56 AM

    yuuum! Yours looks so tasty! Great job!

  • June 28, 2008 at 2:11 PM

    Looks great! I can’t wait to start Barefoot!

  • June 29, 2008 at 8:00 PM

    Looks good. I like your lettuce choice. I used boneless skinless chicken breasts too.
    Can’t wait to see what’s next.

  • June 26, 2009 at 10:48 AM

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