Parmesan chicken

• Dinner was really yummy last night, but since I never follow a recipe exactly, I have to record my changes. But that's why I blog; it's my digital notebook. The inspirational recipe comes from Food Network's Tyler Florence and here's how I did it differently:

Parmesan Chicken

• Extra-virgin olive oil
• 1/2 medium onion, chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1/2 cup olives, pitted
• Basil (I used dried since my fresh plants keep dying.)
• 1 (28-ounce) can diced tomatoes
• Pinch sugar
• Salt and black pepper
• 4 skinless, boneless, chicken thighs (about 3/4 pounds)
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 large eggs, lightly beaten
• 1 tablespoon water
• 1/2 cup dried bread crumbs and/or cornmeal
• A bit of cheddar, grated
• Freshly grated Parmesan
• 1/2 pound spaghetti, cooked

Saute onion and garlic in hot oil. Taste the onion for doneness before adding basil, to taste, crushed olives and tomatoes. Cook on low, occasionally stirring, for a long time while you clean, shower, or complete other tasks. Once the sauce is thickened, add salt, pepper, and sugar to taste. If the tomato tastes too acidic, add 1 T of butter at a time until the flavors balance.

If the chicken is thick, pound it between layers of plastic to 1/2 inch. Set out 3 shallow bowls or rimmed plates for the flour, egg, and bread crumbs. Season the flour and crumbs with salt and pepper. Beat the water and egg until well mixed. Heat oil on the stove for frying. Coat each piece of chicken thoroughly with flour, shaking off excess (using a fork or spoon to coat and transfer between coatings makes this less messy), then dip in eggs, allowing the excess to drip off. Finally, cover in bread crumbs, again shaking excess, and fry for a few minutes on each side.

Heat oven to 450 F. Once the coating is crispy, place chicken in oven proof dish and cover with the sauce, then cheese. Bake until cheese is melty, bubbly, or crisp, however you like it, and serve over spaghetti. It was good.

Serves 3-4

What I learned:

• Check the onion to make sure it is soft before adding anything. Fragrance does not equal done.
• Add butter to reduce the acidity of the tomatoes.
• Forks make this process a lot easier for coating chicken.
• Cornmeal works in place of bread crumbs, but the aesthetics are different.
• Thigh meat doesn't dry out as easily as breast meat. I tend to over cook chicken, thus drying it out, but this was excellent.