(Bri's World Famous)
Chicken Parmesan

by Brian Sorrell

Ingredients
• Boneless Chicken Breasts
• Egg — Milk
• Parmesan Cheese
• Plain Bread Crumbs
• Rosemary
• Oregano
• Basil
• Garlic Powder
• Olive Oil
• Butter
• White Wine
• Salt & Pepper
• Tomato Sauce
• 1 Large Onion
• A Pinch Of Sugar

Disclaimer: I don't measure. Furthermore, the trick to this recipe is how you cook the chicken more than what or how much you add to the breadcrumbs.

Mix the bread crumbs with oregano, basil, rosemary, garlic powder, salt, pepper, and of course, parmesan cheese. I use a bit more oregano than basil, a bit less rosemary than basil, an obvious hint of garlic powder, and subtle hints of salt and pepper. Parmesan is to taste.

Cut the chicken breasts: They usually come pretty thick, so you'll want to cut them into thinner pieces. Typically, I'll cut one breast into two cutlets. Use a sharp knife and try not to lop off any fingers. The goal is to have the breasts thin enough that they will cook in a frying pan over medium heat without burning. I find that about 3/8" thick is good. If needed, you can flatten them a bit with a rolling pin (use wax paper to prevent the pin from sticking to the chicken).

Mix up an egg and milk wash. This will help the bread crumbs stick to the chicken.

Bathe the chicken in the egg wash, then dip the cutlets into the breadcrumb mixture. Get them good and coated with bread crumbs.

In a frying pan over medium heat, combine a bit of olive oil, white wine and butter — at least enough to cover the bottom of the pan — but we're not deep frying here so go easy! When it's warm, add pinches of oregano, basil, rosemary and garlic. Gently lay the breaded cutlets in the mixture.

Allow one side of the cutlets to absorb the mixture and brown. When you start to see the sides of the cutlets cooking, it's probably time to flip them.

Flip the cutlets very gently — the bread crumbs and egg wash will still be pretty brittle. Cook them slowly! Check the thickest cutlet to see when it's finished — I usually poke it with a paring knife and make sure that there's no pink inside. When the thickest one is done, they're all done.

If you have to do a second batch, rinse and cool the frying pan. Always start with a clean pan and a fresh mixture of oil, wine, butter and seasonings. If you don't then you will get burned residue on the second batch and you will not be happy.

That does it for the cutlets. They are good with a honey mustard dressing all by themselves, or if you want to do a pasta, my basic sauce recipe is as follows:

Dice a large onion and brown it in a frying pan. Add it to a pot of plain tomato sauce. Season the sauce with oregano, garlic, and a few pinches of basil. Salt and pepper to taste. Add a pinch of sugar to take the edge off the acidic tomatoes. Let it simmer.

Enjoy!