Thursday, February 7, 2013

Parmesan Crusted Chicken

Parmesan Crusted Chicken is one of those dishes that look like you really know what you're doing, but really doesn't take a whole lot of work to prepare. We watch Trisha's Southern Kitchen all the time and she always talks about how she likes dishes that look and taste like they took hours to make, but are really simple. 

Dawn prepared the toppings (since she's the only one that eats it) while I was banging out the chicken. She took the tomatoes and seeded them and chopped them. Then mixed them with some EVOO, salt, pepper (not pictured) and basil.



I put 2 chicken breasts in a bag and hammered them out. You don't have to have them paper thin, but you want the breasts to be close to even and tender throughout. 


Once they're even in thickness, lay them out and sprinkle some EVOO on top with pepper, then give a good layer of Parmesan cheese. (flip and repeat) 

Let the breasts sit for a little while like this to give everything time to set. We normally let them sit around 15-20 minutes.


Preheat your pan at Med-Hi then add your chicken. Your cook time will vary depending on the thickness of the chicken, but these we let cook for around 7-8 minutes then flipped. After both sides had cooked, flip back to the first side to make sure both sides are evenly crisp. 



Once these come off, make sure to let them rest for 5 minutes. This resting time will not only allow the juices to rest in the meat, but it'll allow the cheese harden and give you a better crust. It's best to let rest over a wire rack with some paper towels underneath to allow the drippings to, well, drip. If you don't let it rest, the second you cut into it, the juice will go everywhere and the crust will become soggy. You don't want soggy cheesy chicken.


This is a simply, quick dish that you can throw together, and put with any side (including instant rice), and look like a hero in front of your friends or family. 


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