Fathers don’t want a meal that breaks the bank so I’m turning chicken into steak and offer a Milanese or Piccata option. Plus, that time I was on a Food & Wine panel with Rachael Ray…  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌

	Open in browser Welcome to the free issue of Between the Layers: An honest conversation about life through the lens of cooking and baking. For more content, consider becoming a Paid Subscriber. Dad-Approved Chicken Scaloppine We All Love - No. 123 Fathers don’t want a meal that breaks the bank so I’m turning chicken into steak and offer a Milanese or Piccata option. Plus, that time I was on a Food & Wine panel with Rachael Ray… Anne Byrn Jun 14 Smashed Chicken Scaloppine a la Milanese. EACH YEAR ABOUT THIS TIME THE ADS try to tell us that fathers love to grill, and yet, have you looked at the price of meat lately? My father grilled when my mother asked him to, not for the fun of it. And while some dads do grill well, even competitively, and my husband has perfected grilled beef tenderloin and knows by touch when it’s medium-rare, we are not living in tenderloin times right now. This is a chance to cook something for dad that you don’t have to spend a lot of money on, something simple but hearty, and enough of it in case he wants to go back for seconds. Chicken, it is! And I’m going to share how to bash a boneless chicken breast into a thin scaloppine-like steak and give you two ways to pan-cook it for dear dad. (Or yourself! You will thank me!) But first, more on dads and their interesting habits… My dad was content opening a can of sardines and searching for the Saltines when my mom left town and he was on his own for dinner. She was always worried he’d starve and had tucked away casseroles, soups, and whatnot in the freezer, but after the first day, they went untouched. I think he was happy to have some time and space to eat what pleased him. Time by themselves to think, or to stare at a river, poke a fire, or to fall asleep watching an old favorite movie, those are quintessential dad things, says Scott Hines, the writer behind the popular Action Cookbook Newsletter. You’ll want to read his recent post called What Do Dads Want? Scott writes this frank and funny ode to fatherhood and in spite of being an architect by day has time to cook dinner, too. He’s covered just about everything quirky we love about dads, but I reminded him that staring into the refrigerator with the door open and expecting lunch to jump out is also a dad thing. He agreed... Chicken Piccata with Artichokes and Olives will make dads or anyone quite happy. Serve with fettuccine alfredo or mashed potatoes or garlic bread, or all three! I created the original recipe for my book The Dinner Doctor, but have since updated it. Fill the gas tank or buy Dad steaks? I thought of two recipes my father would like, and things my husband is always happy that I cook, food that feels substantial but well below the pay grade of steak. Both begin, as I said, with boneless chicken breasts you place in a gallon-size Ziploc and smash the heck out of with a heavy rolling pin until they’re about 1/4-inch thick. You can do this earlier in the day and stack the bags with smashed chicken in the fridge, or you can do it now and place them in the freezer to thaw right before cooking. Dads like action in the kitchen just as they like the rev of a good power tool outside. But the trick of these recipes is that you don’t have to turn on any machinery outside of pulsing the bread crumbs with Parm and garlic in a food processor. It’s all in smashing that chicken thinly, then letting it cook briefly with accoutrements in a skillet. The first recipe is simply Smashed Chicken Scaloppine, which earns its name honestly, and after a quick and crispy saute, I top it with arugula and tomatoes. I was thrilled Ina Garten’s recipe consultant Sarah Leah Chase liked the recipe so much she shared it in the Nantucket newspaper. Chi-chi dad fare! Serve with loads of garlic bread. And dads do love garlic bread. And the second recipe is that chicken piccata I made for years for my family and included in my book, The Dinner Doctor. But I had forgotten about this recipe until recently when a reader confessed it was her son’s all-time favorite. She had clipped the recipe from a September 2004 Food & Wine magazine, and my mind quickly went back to that day in New York when I took part in Food & Wine’s panel on quick cooking with Japanese Iron Chef Masaharu Morimoto, author Gale Gand, Mark Bittman who was writing the Minimalist column for The New York Times, and Rachael Ray, host of 30-Minute Meals on the Food Network. We were called The Fast Five. Rachael Ray wasn’t quite yet the superstar, but she was definitely ascending. And Food & Wine included all our hacks, tricks, and takes on cooking quickly. And to be honest, I hadn’t thought about it in 18 years, and it brought back some slightly unforcomfortable memories. Anne Byrn: Between the Layers is a reader-supported publication. Both free and paid subscriptions are available. If you want to support my work—and my dad would think this is a good thing, indeed—then click the teal button below. Thank you! Subscribe now Rachael Ray…I could feel a dad moment coming on My father was the silent type who didn’t talk on top of others. He listened and waited for the best time to enter the conversation, if he did at all. When I get into situations where people are sharing a lot of opinons, like panels or Zoom calls, I tend to channel my dad and listen, too, and hold back and wait until I have something unique to say. But one person pretty much monopolized that Food & Wine panel, thinking back, and she went on to have a hit cooking show run. When the magazine article came out, no surprise, most of the comments were hers. So why is this still bothering me all these years later? Because I was unable to assert myself more? Did my fellow panelists feel the same way, that they couldn’t get a word in edgewise, or am I just sensitive? And while I had put that episode out of my mind, I hadn’t forgotten how fabulous that chicken piccata recipe was. It had been lost in time, but it was absolutely the way I cooked it when my children were little and nice dinners needed to be thrown together in less than 30 minutes. That’s precisely the reason I’m suggesting it and the scaloppine for Father’s Day. They are both quick to fix, cheap, and memorable. Dads like to be remembered and cooked for, just as they like a comfy chair or sofa after the meal, says Scott Hines. And they like movies, especially featuring stars they fell in love with at 14, or action movies, or nap movies they can fall asleep to. But most of all, dads don’t want you to spend a lot of money on them. And they want you to stand up for yourself and speak up next time. Something else I’ve learned: Not everyone has to be a dad to be like a dad. I own my own pressure washer and just cleaned the front steps, and I’m the one who complains when people don’t turn out the lights. Even if you aren’t a dad, you can still have some “dadness” about you and enjoy these recipes! Daddy’s girls. My sister, Ginger, on the right, and me, on the left. What’s a favorite recipe you make for Dad? Or a Dinner Doctor favorite recipe you’ve never forgotten about? Leave a comment Coming Thursday for Paid Subscribers - Open Thread #4! It’s my favorite way to get summer recipe ideas from other subscribers—YES!—and it should be yours, too! And I share an unpublished recipe, which this week will be Tomato Jam. So good on cheese platters or to eat straight from the jar! Plus, you can ask me anything! Almost anything, but you know what I mean…Here’s how it works: You receive the Thursday newsletter and just click the button to join the conversation! Make sure you are a Paid Subscriber before Thursday morning! The gang I used to make chicken scaloppine for and the dad who still loves to eat Chicken Piccata with Artichokes and Olives. Happy Father’s Day to all the dads out there. And have a great week wherever you are. I’m picking peppers, squash and the first zinnias out of my garden! - xo, Anne THE RECIPES: Print the recipe Chicken Piccata with Artichokes and Olives If you are still making this recipe from the Food & Wine story, no worries, it’s still great. But I’ve made a few updates based on how I cook today. I now add a handful of chopped fresh tomatoes, use basil instead of parsley or a mix of the two, pulse Panko crumbs with a little Parm and a clove of garlic instead of using just fine dry bread crumbs. And I always add more capers. Unlike the second recipe, I don’t dip the chicken in egg white before dredging in bread crumbs because I want a softer crumb and the sauce soaks into the chicken so beautifully this way. For the perfect side? Your mashed potatoes or cooked spaghetti warmed with cream and Parmesan. Makes 2 to 4 servings Prep: 20 to 25 minutes Cook: 2 minutes per side, plus time to simmer the sauce, but that’s less than 5 minutes 2 to 3 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves 1 cup panko bread crumbs or plain dry bread crumbs 1 clove garlic, peeled and halved 2 tablespoons grated Parmesan 1 teaspoon salt 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper 4 tablespoons unsalted butter 1/4 cup vegetable oil 16 to 20 pitted Kalamata olives, drained and chopped 1 jar (6.5 ounces) marinated artichoke hearts, drained and quartered 1/2 cup chopped fresh tomato 1 cup chicken broth Juice of 2 lemons (about 1/4 cup) 1/4 cup drained capers 2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil or parsley Place the bread crumbs, garlic, and Parmesan in the bowl of a food processor and pulse until fine, about 20 seconds. Add the salt and pepper. Turn into a shallow pie plate or 13- by 9-inch pan. Set aside. Place each of the chicken breasts into separate gallon-size Ziploc bags. With a heavy rolling pin or meat mallet pound to 1/4-inch thickness. Place the chicken in the fridge while you prepare the skillets and the sauce ingredients. Place the half of the butter and half of the oil in each of two large 12-inch skillets. Set aside the olives, artichoke hearts, tomato, broth, lemon juice, drained capers, and basil or parsley. When ready to cook, remove the chicken from the fridge. Heat the skillets over medium-high heat. Remove the chicken from the Ziplocs and dredge in the bread crumb mixture on both sides. When the foam subsides in the skillet, add a chicken breast to each of the skillets and cook until golden, about 2 minutes per side. Transfer to a sheet pan or platter. If you are using the third chicken scaloppine, turn off one skillet, and with a slotted spoon gather the crumb mixture from the remaining skillet and sprinkle this over the chicken. Add a little more oil to the skillet and heat over medium-high and repeat with the last chicken breast. Wipe out the last skillet you used, and add the olives, artichokes, and tomatoes. Cook until heated through, about 1 minute. Add the chicken broth, lemon juice, and capers, and let boil for 1 to 2 minutes, stirring, until it reduces just a bit. Spoon the sauce over the chicken, and sprinkle with the basil or parsley. Serve at once. Print the recipe Smashed Chicken Scallopine This recipe has been the mainstay of my kitchen through the years. You dip them into beaten egg white and press both sides into bread crumbs, either homemade or straight from the panko box. After shallow frying in no more than 1/2-inch of oil in a cast iron, non-stick, or your favorite skillet, these golden chicken cutlets are ready to serve with a fabulous salad of tomatoes and arugula on top. Leftovers—should you be so fortunate to have them—go onto tomorrow’s sandwiches or turn into a quickie chicken Parm with the addition of pasta sauce, Parmesan, and mozzarella, plus a little time in a hot oven. Makes 4 to 6 servings Prep: 10 to 15 minutes Cook: 4 minutes 4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves 1 egg white 1 cup panko bread crumbs Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste 1 large clove garlic, pressed 2 tablespoons grated Parmesan Pinch dried oregano, if desired 1 cup vegetable oil, for frying Salad topping: 2 cups arugula leaves 1 cup chopped fresh tomatoes 1/4 cup shaved Parmesan Pinch of lemon zest Good olive oil for drizzling Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper to taste Place each boneless chicken breast in a gallon-size zipper-lock bag. Pound to 1/4-inch thickness using a meat pounder or heavy rolling pin. Place in the fridge. Place the egg white in a glass pie plate or wide, shallow dish and beat lightly with a fork. Place the panko, salt and pepper, garlic, Parmesan and oregano, if desired, in a wide, shallow bowl or pie pan. Place the oil in the skillet over medium-high heat. Remove the chicken from the fridge. Dip the chicken on both sides in the egg white. Press the chicken into the crumbs to coat both sides. When the oil is hot, slide one cutlet at a time into the hot oil and fry until golden, about 2 minutes, then turn with tongs to the other side and brown for 2 minutes. Remove to a platter to keep warm. Repeat with the remaining chicken, straining the dried bread crumb bits from the oil between batches. To serve, top each chicken cutlet with a little arugula, chopped fresh tomatoes, Parmesan shavings, lemon zest, olive oil, and salt and pepper to taste. Like Comment Share You’re on the free list for Anne Byrn: Between the Layers. If you’re liking what you’re reading, why don’t you become a paying subscriber for more recipes, stories, and content. Subscribe now © 2022 Anne Byrn PO Box 159314, Nashville, TN, 37215 Unsubscribe

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