Love Me Tenderized!

Tonight's dinner came from one of my favorite cookbooks, Stir: Mixing it up in the Italian Tradition. I opted for Lemony Breaded Chicken Cutlets, served on a bed of Tuscan Kale, a totally separate recipe in the book. The flavors of these two recipes really melded well together, and this was a really simple dinner for a weeknight. Instead of doing a how-to for these simple recipes, from a cookbook I recommend to everyone, I decided to do another one of my much-requested video explanations on how to tenderize a chicken breast.

It's a very easy procedure, but it's one that everyone should have under their belt. To tenderize a piece of meat, you will need 2 sheets of saran wrap and a meat tenderizer. Check this out.

I recommend using the flat side of the meat tenderizer, as the spiky side can puncture and tear your saran wrap...and shred the meat as well. I reserve the use of the spiky side for a thick cut of meat that needs a little more oomph to spread out. Don't be afraid to make some noise while you're doing this, and keep pounding until you get an even filet, all the way around. If it's not completely flat, you could have an uneven cook on one side. You can also tenderize to a thinner filet, or a thicker filet, depending on what your recipe calls for, but regardless of size, tenderizing adds a suppleness to your dish that you wouldn't find otherwise. 

The Lemony Breaded Chicken Cutlets were dredged in flour, and browned in a skillet before being placed on a baking sheet, and topped with an herb butter panko crust. They just needed to bake in the oven for another ten minutes before dinner was served. The chicken was topped with a chicken broth, butter and lemon juice reduction. I have a friend that was intrigued by the Tuscan Kale recipe, and for her, I will describe it here. It was the easiest side dish ever! Red pepper flakes, sliced garlic, sliced shallots and some salt cooked in some olive oil for a minute before being topped with sliced kale. Add a little bit of water and allow it all to simmer together and wilt for about 15 minutes. I finished it off with some freshly ground black pepper and some lemon juice. I started the kale five minutes before putting the chicken in the oven and that way, everything was done at exactly the same time.