Chicken Parmigiana - Italian-American Comfort Food Classic

Was needing to find a downtown restaurant for some dinner plans and the search led me to the Dallas area of the West End.  Back in the heyday, it was THE spot to go and be seen.  Though the days are long past, a Yelp posting for Spaghetti Warehouse got me happily reminiscing about meals past.  Back then, one of my favorites from their Italian-American specialties was chicken parmigiana.  Honestly, it's an abomination of calories (KFC should take lessons about using that chicken as part of a sandwich), but was oh-so-tasty!

Granted, these days, I'm more likely to seek out a kale salad than a deep fried chicken bomb, but every so often, nostalgia calls.  Luckily for me, this month's Cook's Illustrated was at the ready to accommodate my chicken parm craving with a boastful recipe claiming to be the best chicken parm.  Hmmm...

What can I say, it was the right recipe on the right day!  I won't reprint their recipe (that whole permission thing), but what I will say is here are some of the techniques they taught me that helped make it easily a top 5 chicken parm WITHOUT being deep fried!  Yum!

You know you want some!

The zen of chicken parm:

- Season the chicken with salt and leave out 20-30 minutes  before breading.  Added great flavor and no need to salt the flour, bread crumb mix, etc!

- Mix egg and a little flour to coat the chicken.  Then, dip in breadcrumbs mixed (1:1 ratio of cheese and Panko bread crumbs was my preference) with Parmesan cheese and some seasonings (garlic powder, oregano, pepper, etc.).  (No extra salt was even needed!)

- The BEST hint? Pan-fry breaded chicken in oil (shallow fry), then drain on paper towels. Put the chicken on a cookie sheet and sprinkle HEAVILY with mozzarella (fresh shredded) and/or a mix of mozz and a more melty cheese like Fontina.  Broil until bubbly, THEN put on tomato sauce over the cheese.  Keeps the breading crispy that way.

I served with cooked spaghetti and some whole wheat garlic bread for some tasty eats.  Happy eating!