Chicken Parmesan

Everytime I end up in Davis Square, I always stop by Dave's Fresh Pasta and pick up some form of fresh pasta. This last time, I picked up some basil & lemon papardelle (I think it was basil & lemon at least) among the usual sandwich and multitudes of other tasty goodies :)

So, with that in mind (and in hand), and with some freshly made tomato sauce (for another post anyway), I set off making one of the classic dishes that you seem to find in almost every Italian restaurant, Chicken Parmesan. I remember eating this all the time growing up whenever my family went out and occasionally, I'll see it in the cafeteria at work but otherwise, I don't have it very often.

The recipe I used was inspired by Simply Recipes, one of the most well-designed and easy to use sites around (And that's not even mentioning the wealth of great recipes!). As soon as I looked at this recipe, I knew I had to try it out, and sure enough, it turned out well! I did make a couple substitutions but they were rather minor, chicken breast for chicken thighs and eggs instead of butter for dredging.

Chicken Parmesan

Serves 4-6
Time: 30-40 minutes

Ingredients:
- 2-3 eggs (Can substitute butter)
- ½ cup all purpose flour
- 1 cup bread crumbs (plain)
- 1/3 cup grated Parmesan (or Romano) cheese
- ½ tsp Italian seasoning (basil, parsley, oregano)
- ¼ tsp kosher salt
- ¼ tsp garlic salt
- 2 Tbsp chopped fresh parsley
- 1/8 tsp freshly ground black pepper
- 1-2 lbs chicken breasts/thighs, pounded, cut into large pieces
- ½ cup mozzarella cheese, grated

Method:

1. Combine the bread crumbs, parmesan cheese, Italian seasoning, salt, garlic salt, parsley, and black pepper in a bowl. Put eggs (beaten) and flour in two separate bowls.
2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees
3. Dredge the chicken first in the flour, then the eggs, then the bread crumb mix.
4. Set on a baking sheet (greased or foiled)
5. Bake for 15-20 minutes.
6. At 15 minute mark, drizzle some mozzerella cheese on top. Or, remove into a bakeable dish, spoon some tomato sauce on, and drizzle mozzarella cheese.