Friday Food Recipe

Being something of an amatuer cook, (blame the Food Network), I think I'll start posting a new recipe every Friday for something I cook. It might be a main dish, a side dish, a marinade, or just a seasoning blend, but it'll be something that I use or created. And if any epicures out there have a killer recipe let me know so I can try it out. So onto the first Recipe which is one of my favorites and one I learned when I was 12 years old living in New York from the nice italian neighbor lady that was my Mom's friend

Chicken Parmigiana
Makes 4 to 10 pieces(depends on size)
You’ll need :
4 Boneless, Skinless Chicken Breasts
2 Cups Bread Crumbs ( Seasoned or Unseasoned and Seasoned Yourself)
1 ½ cups egg beaters (or 4 to 5 eggs beaten to make a egg wash)
2 Tablespoons grated Parmasean Cheese
2 Tablespoons grated Romano Cheese
4-10 Large slices of Motzarella Cheese
1 ½ to 2 Cups of Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1 ½ to 2 Cups of Sauce (Homemade Sunday Gravy, or store bought Barrillo works)

How to:
1) Take 1 chicken breast at a time place in Ziploc bag, make sure all air is out of bag and then place it on a flat surface. Use a meat tenderizer hammer’s flat side to pound out the chicken to double its original size (if you don’t have a tenderizer a rolling pin will work).
Cut the flattened Chicken breast into the portion sizes you would like or leave as one huge piece, your preference really. Repeat with other chicken breasts.

2) Take Egg wash and place in bowl. Take bread crumbs and place into another bowl, add parmasean & romano cheeses into the bread crumbs and mix. Take olive oil and add to frying pan and heat on medium to high heat (cast iron skillet works the best).

3) When the oil is heated take a piece of chicken breast and completely submerge into egg wash. Remove and then completely cover in bread crumbs on both sides. Then place breaded chicken breast into frying pan. Repeat with other pieces until pan is full. Let cook until the outer edges of chicken cutlet have started to turn white, then turn over. General rule of thumb is about 7 minutes a side, or until desired color of cutlet. Remove from oil then place on paper towels to drain excess oil. You can also pat additional oil off with more paper towels.

4) Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Take a flat cookie sheet, spray with non stick spray, or take olive oil on a paper towel and grease down sheet. Take chicken cutlets and place on cookie sheet. Take sauce (homemade or store bought) and spread over the top of each cutlet. If you have some fresh basil put a piece on top of each piece as well. Now place a large slice of motzarella cheese on top of each cutlet. Put tray in oven for about 30 minutes, or until cheese is melted to your preference. Remove and serve with a side of pasta, or garlic mashed potatoes, or by itself with a little extra sauce on top.

Total Prep and Cook time is 1 to 1 ½ hours.