Chicken Parmesan

When I was at my dad's house a few weeks ago he gave me Ann Romney's cookbook, The Romney Family Table.  I had so much fun thumbing through the pages with some of my sisters and got excited to start trying some of her recipes.  Last week I sat down and dog-eared some of the pages I wanted to try.

There has been more than one time when Colby and I have gone out to eat together and he has ordered Chicken Parmesan.  I've tried a few times to make homemade Chicken Parmesan but neither of us have ever loved any of the recipes I've tried.  That is, until now!  Ann's Chicken Parmesan was perfect.  I'd say even better than some served in restaurants.  Sometimes I've been intimidated by making Chicken Parmesan because it seems like a lot of work, but this recipe really isn't!  You do need three separate bowls for dipping, but that's it and that's really not a lot of work, just a few more spaces that fill up the dishwasher, right?  This recipe is so good.  You really should give it a try.  

I served it on top of spaghetti noodles with some spaghetti sauce and grated Parmesan cheese on top, but this Chicken Parmesan is so juicy and yummy that eating it plain or with a sprinkle of lemon juice on top would still be just as satisfying.

Chicken Parmesan

Yield: 6 chicken breasts

Ingredients

3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

1/2 cup flour

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

2 eggs

1 cup Italian-styled seasoned bread crumbs

1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, freshly grated

2 tablespoons butter

2 tablespoons olive oil

Directions

Using a sharp knife, slice chicken breasts in half horizontally.  If the breasts are not very uniform in size, take something heavy (or a meat mallet), cover the top of the breasts with plastic wrap and flatten the breasts until they are about 1/2-inch thick.

In a shallow bowl, combine the flour, salt, and pepper.  In a separate bowl beat the eggs.  In a third bowl, whisk together the bread crumbs and Parmesan cheese.

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.  Melt 1 tablespoon butter with 1 tablespoon olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat.  Dip chicken in flour mixture, then egg, then bread crumb mixture.  Add 3 chicken breasts to the skillet and brown nicely on both sides (about 4 minutes on each side).  You may want to reduce the heat to medium-low if it is starting to brown to quickly.  Add the last tablespoon of butter and olive oil to the skillet and brown the remaining 3 chicken breasts.  Place browned chicken in a greased 9x13-inch glass dish and finish cooking for about 20 minutes in the oven.

Recipe Source: adapted slightly from The Romney Family Table cookbook.