Parmesan Chicken, Barefoot Contessa style

This is one of my favorite quick and easy meals to make. It's very tasty and can easily be made kid-friendly. I just love how the vinaigrette from the salad soaks into the breading on the chicken. I love the way the chicken tastes with the warm tossed salad on top. I think we'll have this again soon.

PARMESAN CHICKEN

adapted from Barefoot Contessa Family Style

FOR CHICKEN:

3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon kosher salt

½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

2 extra-large eggs

1 ¼ cups seasoned dry bread crumbs

1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese, plus extra for serving

unsalted butter

Good olive oil

Salad greens, washed and spun dry

FOR VINAIGRETTE:

¼ cup fresh lemon juice (2 lemons)

½ cup good olive oil

½ teaspoon kosher salt

¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1. To make the vinaigrette, whisk together the lemon juice, olive oil, salt and pepper in a small bowl.

1. Pound the chicken breasts until they are 1/2 inch thick. You can use either a meat mallet or a rolling pin. You can pound the meat between two sheets of wax paper or plastic wrap.

2. 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 ½ cup grated Parmesan cheese. 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.

3. Heat 1 tablespoon of butter and 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a large sauté 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. Keep the chicken breasts warm for about 15 minutes on a sheet pan in a 200-degree oven. Toss the salad greens with lemon vinaigrette. Place a mound of salad on each hot chicken breast. Serve with extra grated Parmesan.

How I made this kid-friendly: I cut one of the breasts into about 6 small pieces. I dipped each tender in the flour mixture, then the egg, then the bread crumbs. (I waited until after I had prepared Franny's to add the parmesan, so it would be dairy-free.) Then I heated some margarine (yuck, again, only so franny's could be dairy free) and some olive oil and prepared some delicious chicken nuggets for the girls. They didn't even ask for ketchup! Then of course I added butter to the pan and parmesan to the bread crumbs for Bobby and I.