Recipe Post

(sorry...you'll have to turn your head!)

Ethan and I ate this last night and it was yummy comfort food. It started as a recipe I followed from Cook's Illustrated/ America's Test Kitchen but I modified it in slight ways. I'm writing it out as I did it below.

Materials neeeded: one large soup pot, a dutch oven or large saucepan, a 12 inch skillet, a cookie sheet, a wire rack, a cheese grater, two shallow dishes like pie plates, plastic (saran) wrap


Simple Tomato Sauce with Basil and Garlic

3-4 garlic cloves, peeled and minced
3 tablespoons or so olive oil
1 28 oz. can crushed tomatoes
1 teaspoon dried basil (I added some fresh basil, too, since it was handy in our backyard.)
1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
1/4 teaspoon sugar
salt and fresh ground black pepper


Chicken Parmesan

2 large (8 oz) boneless, skinless chicken breasts OR 4 small (4-5 oz) boneless, skinless chicken breasts (We did the 2 large.)
1 large egg
salt and fresh ground pepper
1/2-1 cup dry bread crumbs (I bought Italian style.)
3 tablespoons or so olive oil
1/2- 3/4 cup grated part-skim mozzarella cheese
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
8 oz. spaghetti or linguine (We had the linguine. I went ahead and made the whole pound of pasta.)

Make the sauce first.
1. In a large saucepan or Dutch oven, heat garlic and oil together over medium-high heat until garlic starts to sizzle.
2. Stir in tomatoes, basil, oregano, sugar, a pinch of salt, and a couple of grinds of the black pepper; bring to simmer.
3. Continue to simmer until sauce thickens a bit and flavors meld, 10-12 minutes.
4. Reduce heat to low (or cover) to keep warm, stirring occasionally. Taste and add salt if necessary.

Next, the Chicken Parmesan.
1. Place chicken breasts smooth side down on a large sheet of plastic wrap. Cover with a second sheet of plastic wrap and pound gently to 1/4 inch thickness.
2. Bring 2-3 quarts water to boil in a large soup kettle.
3. Beat egg and a heaping 1/4 teaspoon salt together in a small pie plate or other shallow dish.
4. Mix bread crumbs, a heaping 1/4 teaspoon salt, and a grind or two of black pepper in another small pie plate or shallow dish.
5. Preheat broiler. Ours has a high and a low setting; I chose high.
6. Working with one at a time, dip both sides of each breast into the beaten egg, and then the bread crumb mixture. Set them on a large wire rack set over a cookie sheet to wait.
7. Add pasta to boiling water. Give it a stir.
8. While pasta is cooking, heat oil over medium-high heat in 12 inch skillet.
9. When oil starts to shimmer, add breasts and saute until golden brown on each side, about 2-3 minutes per side.
10. While breasts are sauteeing, wash and dry wire rack and replace on cookie sheet.
11. Transfer breasts to wire rack.
12. Grate cheeses, and top each breast with equal portions of mozzarella and Parmesan.
12. Place pan of chicken 4-5 inches from heat source (top) and broil until cheese melts and is spotty brown, about 3 minutes. Drain spaghetti.

I plated it with pasta, some sauce, the chicken breast, and then more sauce. There was left-over sauce, which I poured on the extra pasta and it made a nice lunch later!

A green salad and some garlic bread would go great with this, although (as you can see) I served it with some sauteed butternut squash wheels. A cabernet-sauvignon goes great as well. Enjoy!