PW Chicken Parmesan

As you can probably tell from the absence of posts, I’m a little behind on this month’s Sweet as Pie selections.  But finish them I shall and it all starts with Pioneer Woman’s Chicken Parmesan.  I’m actually glad I didn’t make this one earlier in the month because that meant I could make it at home for my mom and grandmother as part of Mother’s Day weekend.  Mom loves Chicken Parmesan, so I figured she’d give it a thorough review.  Here’s how it came together:

I try to use chicken cutlets when I make this dish because they are already thin enough and I save myself the trouble of pounding the chicken out.  Since I was in Rogersville for Mother’s Day, there were no cutlets to be had.  I still refused to pound out the chicken though, so I settled for slicing the breasts in half.  Worked just fine.After dredging the chicken in flour, I pan fried them until golden.

Next it was on to the sauce, which started out with a little onion and garlic saute.

At this point, PW asked me to deglaze the plan with wine.  Normally, I’d be all for this but since (1) Mom hates wine and hates the taste of wine in food and (2) Rogersville is in a dry county, we opted to use chicken broth instead.The tomatoes went in next and I took some liberties with the recipe by adding various seasonings, including a good bit of oregano.

The sauce just wasn't as flavorful as I'd hoped, but this probably had to do somewhat with the wine substitution.

I stirred some of the parmesan into the sauce and added the chicken back to the pan. Then, I sprinkled the rest of the cheese on the chicken and covered the pan to melt the cheese.

The finished product:

This was a pretty good recipe.  I think the only thing missing was a little bolder flavor in the sauce.  Although, maybe the wine would have made all the difference with that.  The whole family enjoyed the dish.  Ultimately though, I think I like my trusty Chicken Parm recipe better (and Mom agrees) – it just has a little extra something that works for me.  Here’s the recipe I usually use – try it out and compare for yourself (and let me know your thoughts):

Chicken Parmesan

For the tomato sauce:

• 2 medium cloves garlic, minced or put through garlic press
• 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 28 oz. can crushed tomatoes
• 1/2 tsp. dried basil
• 1/2 tsp. dried oregano
• 1/4 tsp. granulated sugar
• Salt and ground black pepper

For the chicken:

• 1 large egg
• 1/2-1 cup panko
• 2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (split or pounded thin) or 4 chicken breast cutlets
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 3/4 cup grated mozzarella cheese
• 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• Salt and ground black pepper
• 8 oz. spaghetti or linguine

1. In a large saucepan or Dutch oven, heat garlic and oil for sauce together over medium-high heat until garlic starts to sizzle.  Stir in tomatoes, basil, oregano, sugar, a pinch of salt, and a couple of grinds of pepper; bring to a simmer.  Continue to simmer until sauce thickens a bit and flavors meld, 10-12 minutes.  Taste sauce, adjusting salt if necessary.  Cover and keep warm.
2. Beat egg and a heaping 1/4 tsp. salt in a small pie plate until completely broken up.  Mix panko, a heaping 1/4 tsp. salt, and a grind or two of pepper in another small pie plate.
3. Preheat broiler.  Dip both sides of each cutlet in the beaten egg, then in the panko mixture.  Set cutlets on large wire rack set over a jelly roll pan.
4. Heat oil over medium-high heat in a 12-inch skillet.  When oil starts to shimmer, add cutlets and saute until golden brown on each side, about 5-6 minutes total.  Wash and dry wire rack and return to jelly roll pan.  Transfer cutlets to wire rack and top each with equal portions of mozzarella and Parmesan cheeses.  Place pan of cutlets 4-5 inches from heat source and broil until cheese melts and is spotty brown, about 3 minutes.
5. Boil spaghetti and 2 tsp. salt while cutlets saute.
6. Serve each cutlet over spaghetti with several tablespoons of sauce.  Top with extra Parmesan cheese.