Chicken Parmigiana w/Linguini

So, this week was my turn to cook for our meal exchange group. For the first time in a long time I really didn't know what I would be making. The beginning of November kind of caught me by surprise! Thinking* my favorite hand-trimmed chicken breasts were on sale at Albertsons this week, I chose to make Chicken Parmigiana.

I love the recipe I have from San Francisco Encore. It's pretty straightforward, and just plain ol' yummy!

Over the years I've made it in different pans with different cooking tools, and I think I've finally found the perfect combo for breading/sauteeing chicken pieces: the 7 qt. Calphalon One Sauteuse (not the non-stick one) pan, and a stiff beveled turner from Pampered Chef. This particular turner wedges its way under the pieces, and the pan (seasoned with a little butter & oil) browns the chicken nicely, but also allows for a release that keeps the breading ON the chicken! Getting this step down is truly the key in making this dish.

Seasoning the pan with butter & oil....this was a tip I picked up from my Cook's Illustrated magazines. The oil helps with the stickiness, and the butter allows for better browning. Good to know!!

Now that you know how to cook the dish, here is the recipe:

Chicken Parmigiana (San Francisco Encore)

Preheat the oven to 325º.

Pound to a thickness of 1/4":
6 half boneless, skinless chicken breasts (I slice these so they are half the thickness, and then do a little pounding.)

Combine in a shallow bowl:
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1/4 tsp salt
1/8 tsp pepper

Mix in a separate bowl:
½ C dry plain bread crumbs
½ C Parmesan cheese

Dip the chicken into the eggs and then into the bread crumbs.

Heat oil (and butter...my addition!) in a heavy skillet. Quickly brown the chicken on both sides. Remove to a shallow baking dish.

Our off any oil remaining in the pan. Add and saute briefly:
1 clove garlic, minced

Stir into the pan, and bring to a boil:
2 C tomato sauce**
1/4 tsp dried basil
salt to taste
pepper to taste


Reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes.

Stir in:
1 TB butter

Spoon the sauce over the chicken.
Sprinkle over the chicken:
½ C Parmesan cheese

Cover and bake for 30 minutes.

Uncover, and arrange over the chicken:
8 oz. mozzarella cheese slices

Return to the oven and continue baking until the cheese melts.

To serve it to the three other families, I placed the chicken pieces on a bed of cooked linguini. It was a much better presentation than just putting the chicken right in the pan. Next time I'd add a little more sauce for the linguini.

My daughter (a vegetarian for 18 mos. now) used to call this Pizza Chicken and would devour it! Now, to make it for, I will bread and sautee some pieces of extra firm tofu. Works just fine!

Anyway, I hope you enjoy this one!!


*Uh, no...they weren't on sale. I discovered this on cooking day, and by that time there was no going back. Dang it!!

**We used to make this dish regularly, but for some reason hadn't made it for many years. When I started canning a few years ago, I made waaaaaaay too much tomato sauce! So I purposely looked for recipes that needed tomato sauce. Since that time, I've been making this dish for company, to bring to families, and for our own dinners.