Parmesan Chicken- easy but impressive

So I guess I'm on a Barefoot Contessa kick on this blog.

I should mention that several years ago, I went to Wolfgang Puck's restaurant for my birthday. I got butternut squash ravioli, which was delicious! However, the real star of the night was my cousin's dish- chicken parmesan with a light salad and lemon vinaigrette. When I saw this recipe on Ina Garten's show, I knew I had to make it. Sure enough, it was very similar. Even better, it was very simple to make and you could even make it for a weekday dinner. At the same time, it is very impressive and tasty and would definitely impress at a dinner party. And it features my favorite condiment- the lemon!

I would like to note it could use an extra kick of flavor in the batter- I will experiment with that next time. Without the lemon it is not as remarkable.

Parmesan Chicken
Adapted from an Ina Garten recipe

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• 4 to 6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 2 extra-large eggs
• 1 tablespoon water
• 1 cups panko bread crumbs
• 1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan, plus extra for serving
• Unsalted butter
• Good olive oil
• Ready to use arugula salad
• 1 recipe Lemon Vinaigrette, recipe follows

Directions:

Pound the chicken breasts until they are 1/4-inch thick. You can use either a meat mallet or a rolling pin.

Combine the flour, salt, and pepper on a dinner plate. On a second plate, beat the eggs with 1 tablespoon of water. On a third plate, combine the bread crumbs and 1/2 cup grated Parmesan. Coat the chicken breasts on both sides with the flour mixture, then dip both sides into the egg mixture and dredge both sides in the bread-crumb mixture, pressing lightly.

Heat 1 tablespoon of butter and 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a large saute pan and cook 2 or 3 chicken breasts on medium-low heat for 2 to 3 minutes on each side, until cooked through. Add more butter and oil and cook the rest of the chicken breasts. Toss the salad greens with lemon vinaigrette. Place a mound of salad on each hot chicken breast. Serve with extra grated Parmesan.

Lemon Vinaigrette:

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• 1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice (2 lemons)
• 1/2 cup good olive oil
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

In a small bowl, whisk together the lemon juice, olive oil, salt, and pepper.