Chicken Parmesan and Marinara Sauce

Chicken Parmesan

8 chicken tender strips

1 cup flour

3 Eggs

Parmesan cheese

Mozzarella cheese

Extra virgin olive oil

Marinara Sauce(See recipe)

Bread Crumb Mixture

1 ½ - 2 cups Italian bread crumbs

3 cloves garlic, minced

½ cup parmesan cheese, grated

1 pinch crushed red pepper

1 tbsp chopped fresh basil

1 tbsp chopped fresh parsley

Salt and Pepper

Instructions:

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Start by having 3 shallow dishes or 3 plates, 1 for flour, 1 for eggs, and 1 for bread crumbs. In the flour dish, put in the flour and add salt and pepper. For the eggs, beat together and also add salt and pepper. Mix together the bread crumbs with the listed ingredients in the last dish. Heat a large pan(that can go in the oven, so I use metal) over medium heat. Coat the bottom of the pan with a generous amount of olive oil.  Take the chicken tenders and coat them in the flour, shaking of an excess, dip them in the eggs, again shaking off excess, and cover them with the bread crumbs. Put in the pan and cook 3-4 minutes on the first side, or until golden brown. Flip the tenders and cook for 1-2 minutes. Move the chicken close together as possible in the middle of the pan, cover in sauce, top with mozzarella cheese, and sprinkle parmesan on top. Put in the middle of the oven and bake for 15 minutes.(might have to move it to top rack to finish melting/browning cheese). Serve over spaghetti or angel hair with extra sauce. Serves 4(strips per person). As a side note, I usually start the sauce first, so that is simmering while I do the chicken and pasta. Also, you could use chicken breasts and pound them out, which ever you prefer.

Marinara Sauce

1 onion, diced small

2 shallots, diced small

6 cloves garlic, minced

1 tsp crush

15z can crushed tomatoes

15oz can tomato puree/sauce

2 tbsp. dry vermouth(optional)

2 tbsp. tomato paste

¼ cup chopped fresh basil

1/8 cup chopped fresh parsley

1/3 cup parmesan cheese

½ tbsp. Italian seasoning (I use fresh oregano, thyme, rosemary, and chives, but I have an herb garden; don’t buy all those if you don’t have them already)

Sugar, salt, and pepper

Instructions:

Heat a large pot over medium heat. Put about a tablespoon of olive oil in the pot, then slide in onion, shallots, crushed red pepper, salt, and pepper. Sauté for 4-5 minutes then put in garlic. Cook for another minute or two, until garlic just starts to brown and onions are translucent. Pour in vermouth and scrape up all the brown bits. Then add both cans of tomatoes, and tomato paste, and herbs. Once the sauce begins to simmer, add parmesan cheese, a tsp. sugar, salt(probably about a tsp.), and pepper. After simmering for 10-15 minutes, taste again for salt and pepper. Simmer for 20-30 minutes or when needed.

Comments

I will probably put some comments at the end of most recipes. I'm going to try to post all the dishes I make, whether they turn out great or just average. Usually its pretty easy to know what I did wrong, so point out those mistakes can help everybody, including myself, learn and develop a better understanding for cooking and the techniques. Also understand that I am my own biggest critic, so I usually point out want most consider a small flaw.

Beef pot roast

Braised Beef Pot Roast

3 pound bottom round(you can use other cuts, this was just on sale)

2 small-medium onions, cut into eighths

2 carrots, cut into thick rings and quartered

2 celery stalks, sliced

1 8oz package white mushrooms, quartered

6 cloves garlic, roughly chopped

½ bottle red wine(I used cabernet)

2 cups beef stock

1 tbsp tomato paste(I freeze mine in saran-wrapped roll, so it’s easy to cut off a piece)

Fresh herbs – 3 sprigs time, 1 sprig oregano, 1 small sprig rosemary, 1 small sprig basil, 1 sprig parsley

1-2 tbsp. Brandy

1/3 cup half and half

Olive Oil

Butter

Flour

Garlic powder

Salt & Pepper

Instructions:

Chop all the vegetables and set aside.

Bring a 6qt pot or dutch oven to medium heat. Put some olive oil and 1tbs butter in the pot. Season the beef with salt, pepper, and garlic powder and dust with flour, then place in the pot. Sear on all sides then remove from heat. I then wiped up the oil left in the pot, but left the brown bits in there.

Put some oil and a tbsp. of butter in the pot, and put the carrot, celery, and onion in. Season with pepper(Salt? Be careful of adding salt because of the beef stock). After 4-5 minutes, put the garlic and mushrooms in. Sauté for another 4-5 minutes, then deglaze the pan with brandy. After about 1 minute, add the wine, beef stock, and tomato paste. Bring up to a simmer. Add the herbs(tied together in a bundle) and cover. At this point, I transferred to a crock pot. You could also cover and put in a 300-350 degree oven. Let simmer for 3 hours. Check for salt and pepper.

When finished, take out the beef and vegetables. Pour juice into a saucepan. Mix half and half with 2 tbsp. flour and pour into the sauce. Reduce until desired consistency.

Serve over mashed potatoes with sauce.

Comments: I didn’t put enough salt in during cooking so it tasted a little bland. I added some salt to my plate on top of the food and mixed it up, and it fixed it and tasted great. Also, the meat was still a little tough. It could have been the cut of meat I had, but I think simmering it on low for a longer time could have made the meat fall apart as I intended. It still turned out good though, because the dryness of the meat was hidden by the sauce and the mashed potatoes.
Also, it made for a great lunch meal the next day.

First post!

I've been pretty busy, as every first year law student is, but i definitely haven't sacrificed cooking. I've made some great dishes so far including ceviche, caribbean pork tacos with mango salso, sausage and cheese tortellini, and chicken parmesan just to name a few. I don't know which of those will make it on here, but i'm sure ill make most of them again. To get to the point, tonight a made thai basil chicken. It turned out really good, so I'm going to share it.

Thai basil chicken

2 chicken breasts

1 green onion, chopped small

3 cloves garlic

1 tbsp. grated fresh ginger

Handful of Thai basil, roughly chopped

½ jalapeno, minced

½ tbsp. chili-garlic paste

1 tbsp. light brown sugar

Juice of half a lime

Soy sauce

1/3 cup chicken stock(rough estimate)

Vegetable oil

Sesame oil

Onion powder & Garlic powder

Salt & pepper

Instructions:

Mince chicken breasts into small cubes.(easier to chop if still partially frozen) Season with jalapeno, salt, pepper, a little bit of garlic and onion powders.

In a bowl, mix together about 1/4 cup of soy sauce, chicken stock, a splash of sesame oil, lime juice, chili-garlic pasted, brown sugar, and pepper. (Can add salt, but be careful as the soy sauce and chicken stock have lots of salt)

Heat up the wok. When hot, add a couple tablespoons of vegetable oil and about a teaspoon of sesame oil.  Sear chicken until it starts to slightly brown, then grate in garlic. Continue to cook for a minute, being careful not to burn the garlic. Add several splashes of soy sauce to deglaze the wok, then at the bowl of liquid mixed together earlier. Simmer for a few minutes, then add the basil. After about 10 seconds, pull the plug on the electric wok(or take pan off heat) and continue to stir the mixture to wilt the basil. Taste and add salt/pepper if needed. Serve over white rice, and be sure to spoon some of that delicious juice over the top.

My recipes definitely arent exact because I rarely measure, but I try to estimate as best I can. Enjoy!