A Proper Dinner

I had to apologize to my beloved Ryan the other day because I've noticed that I've become somewhat obsessed with one-dish meals. And there's nothing wrong with one-dish meals, but he's a man and there are only so many times that he probably gets excited about a new soup recipe.

So I decided to make Ryan a proper dinner the other night and tried one new recipe and a standby that I knew that he would particularly love: Walnut Crusted Chicken Cutlets and Roasted Baby Red Potatoes.

The Walnut Crusted Chicken dish came from Delish.com. That's MSN's new "foodie" haven that draws from various magazines affiliated with MSN, as well as occasional features on celebrity chefs. I don't specifically go to Delish, but every once in awhile when I connect to the internet and look at MSN's homepage, they'll feature a food category and being the recipe addict that I am - I have to take a peek.

Although this was a very simple dish, it took me a bit out of my comfort zone because I have never cooked with panko breadcrumbs and any time I do a chicken dish, it's a pretty basic set up: Chicken meets pan, chicken gets cooked thorougly and is then enjoyed. Ryan and I both loved this recipe and I could see where this breading would also be awesome with fish.

Walnut Crusted Chicken Cutlets

• 1/2 cup(s) panko (Japanese-style bread crumbs)
• 1/8 teaspoon(s) ground red pepper (cayenne)
• Salt and pepper
• 1/2 cup(s) walnuts, toasted and cooled
• 1/4 cup(s) fresh parsley leaves, loosely packed **I omitted
  
• 1 large egg white
• 1 teaspoon(s) Dijon mustard
• 1 1/2 pound(s) chicken-breast cutlets, thinly sliced **this ended up being two large chicken breasts
  

---

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 450°F.
2. On large dinner plate, combine panko, ground red pepper, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper. In food processor with knife blade attached, blend walnuts and parsley until nuts are finely chopped; toss with panko mixture until well blended. Set aside.

3.In pie plate, whisk egg white and Dijon until well mixed.  One at a time, dip 1 side of each cutlet in egg-white mixture, then into walnut mixture to coat side evenly; press firmly so mixture adheres. Arrange chicken on baking sheet.  Bake chicken 10 to 12 minutes or until topping is golden-brown and chicken is no longer pink throughout. (**I cooked it for a little longer just to be on the safe side ... about 15-18 minutes.)


Baby Red Potatoes

This recipe is loosely inspired from a Paula Deen dish.

15 baby red potatoes, quartered
4-5 cloves garlic, minced
1/8 tsp. cayenne pepper (more or less to taste)
1 T. dried rosemary
1/2 tsp. salt
olive oil

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Wash and quarter the baby reds, placing them in a baking dish (I used my 9x13 cake pan.) Mince garlic cloves. Add garlic and other seasonings on top of potatoes, drizzle with olive oil, stir to combine. (Weird Shelley Note: When adding the rosemary or other dry herbs (oregano, sage, thyme - whatever), I read somewhere once that you're supposed to rub them between your hands to release the flavor. You probably don't have to, but I love the smell of rosemary so I do anyway.)

I am terrible at cooking baby reds and hate it when they are underdone, so I err on the side of extreme caution and bake 'em for about 30-45 minutes, until they are fork tender. I also shake the pan occassionally to ensure they are cooking evenly.