A Bulldog’s Birthday and Stranger #2 with Chicken Milanese

So our second dinner with strangers per my New Years Resolution was a sly attempt to lure people to our house to celebrate Izzy’s fifth birthday. Our strangers were two couples from our church who were all rather surprised at the fanfare KP and I orchestrate on behalf of our bulldog. “How does Izzy know today’s her birthday?” Kay, stranger #2, asked me. How do any of us know it’s our birthday, I responded, there’s no internal birthday clock. A birthday is whenever loved ones conspire to sabotage us with love. It really should happen more often than once a year.

 

Izzy loved her cake, as you can tell by her giddy affect.

For our dinner with our beloved strangers, we served Chicken Milanese. Quick, easy, and full of flavor. Very low-stress dinner to serve when entertaining.

Chicken Milanese

Adapted from Food and Wine

2 eggs

3 TB Dijon mustard

1 ½ tsp cayenne pepper

Kosher salt and ground pepper to taste

1 ½ cups panko bread crumbs

4-6 4-oz chicken breasts, sliced thin (1/2 inch)

1/3 cup olive oil

2 cups grape tomatoes, halved

1 TB fresh lemon juice

¼ cup chopped parsley, or basil (which is what I used)

Shaved Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese

In a pie plate or shallow bowl, beat the eggs with the mustard and cayenne and season with salt and pepper.

Spread the bread crumbs in a separate bowl or pie plate. Dip the chicken in the egg mixture, then dredge in the panko, press to help it adhere.

In a large skillet, heat 1/3 cup olive oil until shimmering. Add the chicken and cook over moderately high heat, turning once, until browned and white throughout, 4-6 minutes. Transfer chicken to plates.

Meanwhile, in a bowl, toss the tomatoes, lemon juice and parsley or basil with a tablespoon of olive oil. Season with salt and pepper. Spoon the tomatoes over the chicken and garnish with cheese. Serve immediately.

So good, the chicken is very moist and tender. Olive oil is easy to burn so you have to take care not to turn the skillet up too hot. Be sure to let your bulldog have a little taste, if its her birthday. With a little nibble of cake…