What My Family Eats #1
My wife and I cook at home a lot. And since we also work at home that is double the meals of most families. While we are both very adventurous eaters and cooks, there are a couple of old familiar recipes that we return to week after week because they are quick and easy to prepare and we really like eating them. I'm assuming this is normal for most families because I have memories of the ground beef caseroles my Mom used to serve us too often when I was young.
This first installment of my attempt to catalog these recipes is what we call Chicken Milanese. It is a derivative of a Cotoletta alla Milanese (Italian), Milanesa (Argentina) and Wiener Schnitzel (German) but made with chicken. Ready to eat in under 30 minutes, any leftovers make a fabulous sandwich the next day.
Chicken Milanese
1 lb. - chicken breast cutlets
1/4 cup - milk
1 - egg
1/2 cup - bread crumbs
2 cloves - garlic (finely chopped)
1 tsp. - salt
1 tsp. - pepper
olive oil
Heat your largest frying pan on a medium flame. Beat together milk and egg in a wide, shallow bowl. Mix bread crumbs, garlic, salt and pepper in another wide, shallow bowl. Individually coat each chicken cutlet first with milk/egg mixture and then the bread crumb mixture. Repeat with all the chicken pieces.
Pour enough olive oil into frying pan to cover the entire bottom with 1/4 inch. Add breaded cutlets to hot oil. Cook cutlets 5 minutes per side or until done. Remove cutlets from oil and allow to drain on paper towels.
Serve with warm tomato sauce on top or with a mixture of torn arugula, halved cherry tomatoes, lemon juice, olive oil, salt and pepper.
Serves 4.
// and for an extra treat try Mama Mark's Mashed Potatoes //
Mama Mark's Mashed Potatoes
8 - medium sized red potatoes
4 tbsp. - butter
1/2 cup - milk
1/2 tsp. - rubbed sage
1 1/2 tsp. - salt
1 tsp. - pepper
Cut potatoes into 3/4 inch cubes but leave the skin on. Cook in boiling water about 15 minutes or until tender. Drain potatoes and then return them to the pot they were cooked in. Using a potato masher, mash roughly. Add butter, sage, salt and pepper. Continue to mash to blend. Add milk. Mash some more until thick. If too dry, add a little more milk.
Serves 4.
That looks delicious, Mark...definitely a recipe I'd like to try. The arugula topping sounds yummy. But did you style your food in any way for the photo? Or is this a totally realistic representation of what your food normally looks like on the plate?
i will admit that my wife may have move around a tomato or two and i did clean up a minor dribble with a towel. but, it's a relatively messless meal to present since all the ingredients stay together their own clump.
be warned, if your oil is too hot then you risk breading sticking to your pan and bare spots on the chicken. also, the hot oil can spatter like crazy. to remedy, just turn down the fire and consider using a spatter shield.