Chicken Cutlets

I grew up in a very Italian neighbourhood and was able to enjoy authentic Italian homecooking from a very early age. What's even better is that I got to taste it straight from the hands of my friends Nonnas hailing from Calabria, Sicily, Abruzzi, Napoli and so on. I was able to taste the different but equally delicious twists on the same recipe. It was culinary heaven.

Chicken cutlets are so delicious. They're tender, juicy, crispy, super tasty..oh how my mouth waters. Every Nonna had her own "best way" method.. some used salt and pepper, others soaked them in an olive oil, garlic parsley bath before dredging and the list goes on and on..
They taste great with tomato sauce on a fresh panini with roasted peppers, onions and mushrooms. They also taste great alongside pasta. They also taste good with a salad. Put it this way- they are just so good that they taste good with EVERYTHING!...I lolololoooooooove Chicken cutlets!

Ingredients:
5 skinless chicken breasts
1/2 cup grated parmegianno regianno cheese
1.5 cups bread crumbs
1 cup flour
3 eggs
1 tablespoon milk
1 teaspoon dried basil
1 teaspoon dried oregano
salt and pepper to taste
enough olive oil to cover a shallow frying pan by
1 clove garlic

Method:
Make your breading station. Place flour, breadcrumbs and eggs in three seperate and large plates. Add a pinch of salt to your flour. Beat your egg with milk. Add parm cheese and dried herbs to the breadcrumbs. Line up the plates so you start with flour, then eggs then breadcrumbs.

Put one chicken breast at a time in the center of a large ziploc bag and pound the cutlets with the smooth head of a tenderizing mallet. Pound it out (not too aggressively) until it flattens out and increases width twice over- it should be quite thin, about 1/3 of an inch if possible.

Salt and pepper your chicken.

In the meantime, heat your pan with the olive oil and a clove of garlic with the skin covered.
When the garlic turns black- discard it. You just want it to infuse the oil.

Now bread your chicken- start with coating both sides with flour, then egg, then breadcrumbs. In each station make sure to shake off any excess. Fry in batches until golden and crispy- about 2.5-3 minutes per side. Use a meat thermometer to be sure. When you remove the cutlets, allow the excess oil to drip and rest on a paper towel.