My Claim to Cooking Fame: Chicken Cutlets

I have noted before in this blog that cooking isn't exactly my forte. Basically, cooking and baking is just chemistry with a very tasty outcome, and despite my academic success, chemistry was the one class in high school that just did not click for me.

However, the one entree that I actually can cook (and cook pretty well) are chicken cutlets. The first time I made them, my dad mentioned that these were better than my mother's, which is borderline blasphemy, and since then, my mom insists that if I make them better than her, I should be the designated chicken cutlet chef of the house. So when last week my mom said that we'd be having chicken cutlets for dinner, she basically was telling me that I'd be cooking.

I think the reason that I make good chicken cutlets is because of the fact that I am a newbie to this whole cooking thing coupled with the fact that I am a super perfectionist. Why would being a rookie make me good at making chicken cutlets? Well, I focus all of my attention on making the cutlets and the cutlets only, so it takes me a while to bread them and then fry them because I am trying so hard to get it right. Plus, being a perfectionist, I roll the cutlets around in the flour, egg and bread crumbs to the point where there cannot be a single part of the cutlet that is uncovered. I am very particular about that part.

Three plates for: flour, eggs and bread crumbs.

So tonight was chicken cutlet night and I was in charge. Usually I just use whatever generic bread crumbs we have in the cabinets, but my mom bought Panko bread crumbs to try this time. These were a different consistency than what I was used to and definitely ended up contributing to a crispier cutlet -- still just as delicious.

In order to make a good chicken cutlet, you need to have thin chicken breasts and then completely cover them first in flour, then in eggs and then breadcrumbs. This is usually the part of the chicken cutlet cooking process where I make the biggest mess. My mom tends to look over and yell at me when I'm breading the cutlets because I inevitably manage to get the breadcrumbs everywhere. This is also the part of the cutlet process where your fingers end up being breaded by all of the aforementioned items. Just a warning: chicken cutlet fingers are the worst. Try making them and you'll see what I mean.

Successfully breaded chicken cutlets. Look tasty already -- minus the fact that they are raw...

After the chicken cutlets are breaded, it's time for them to be fried! Everything tastes good fried, especially in olive oil. You can use the same chicken cutlet breading process for other things too such as eggplant or mozzarella. My brother commented that I "put all of my eggs in one basket with the whole chicken cutlet thing," claiming that it was the only thing I knew how to make. While there might be some truth in that statement, being able to make this dish at least is a good foundation for other things like chicken parmigiano or egglplant parm.

....and then flip!

Next, you just put the cutlets on your skillet or frying pan with a little olive oil, and honestly, I just watch them and wait for them to turn a nice golden brown color before flipping them to the other side. I know that the Food Network claims that a good chef knows when the chicken has been cooked and doesn't need to cut in the middle to make sure it's not still raw, but I am a bit neurotic about that after a few unfortunate incidents. I just keep the heat on low and wait for it to sizzle and turn golden brown and pray to the cooking gods that my chicken is ready for eating.

Cooking chicken cutlets is a blissful experience.
I always keep my Blackberry handy in case I need to call 911 on account of any kitchen fires.

The whole process actually isn't too time consuming, but it does depend on the number of cutlets you're making and how much of a perfectionist you are during the breading process. I am just flat-out slow, but I think that is because I am so particular and also because I am still learning and am not the most confident cook -- yet. Hopefully I will graduate from newbie to at least amateur status and be able to multi-task while cooking...something that is essential to creating an entire meal. Luckily, for now, I have my su chef (also known as my cooking supervisor and mother) who was kind enough to make rice pilaf but also yells at me when I make a mess.

Dinner time

And there you have it folks. Another successful kitchen experience from this domestically impaired college grad.