Sunday, August 01, 2010

Buttermilk Pecan Chicken Cutlets for Magazine Monday



Fork tender...and healthy too!



Here is a quick meal that has healthy ingredients and won't break the budget. In this crappy economy you have to shop with an eye for bargains. The chicken cutlets were on sale at our local markets for $3.99 a pound. The other ingredients I had in the pantry and fridge....easy!

You'll need the following:

1/4 cup buttermilk
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
4 large cutlets
1/3 cup Panko (Japanese breadcrumbs)
1/4 cup finely chopped pecans (The recipe called for walnuts- I had pecans)
2 tablespoons freshly grated Parmesan cheese
1 teaspoon fresh rosemary
1/4 teaspoon each salt and pepper

Note on Buttermilk: (I didn't need a large bottle of buttermilk at this time so I just poured regular milk, let it sit at room temperature for a half hour and added a few teaspoons of white vinegar. There you have it, buttermilk)

Preheat your oven to 425 F (218 C).

Combine buttermilk and mustard in shallow dish. Whisk and mix. Add chicken to buttermilk mixture, turning to coat.

Heat small skillet over medium heat, add Panko and cook 3 minutes. Stir it a bit while it's toasting in the pan. Now add the nuts and next four ingredients. The Panko will pop, kinda like popcorn, as it heats in the pan so...be careful.
Now dredge your soaked cutlets through the Panko mixture.

Do you see how the fried breading adheres to the cutlet? Saturated in mustard and buttermilk the panko-pecan-Parmesan breading sticks beautifully. Now it's ready for a quick bake. Pop in the oven for 15 minutes.



I served with sticky white rice, fresh from the rice maker. The cutlets were quite tender, I managed to cut them using only a fork.



If you don't have a rice maker I would recommend purchasing one. When the idea was presented about purchasing a rice maker I thought, what a waste of space on the counter. It is, in fact, one of my much loved appliances. It frees up my burners of the stove, I can start the rice and not have that chore to attend to, no stirring......and it makes that great sticky rice that you get in Chinese restaurants. Something I could never achieve when I made rice on the stove top. And it also steams foods - vegetables, chicken, whatever. (And it stores easily under a counter when not in use)

Hmmm..rereading that last paragraph makes it sound like I receive income from the sale of rice makers - I wish!

Our Japanese dogs very much like little contraption...Spoiled....



No need to think about whether this one is a keeper. Oh yes! It was easy to make, healthy ingredients and quick to get on the table. From the June 1010 issue of Cooking Light.



I will be sending this to the lovely Ivonne at Cream Puffs in Venice for her Magazine Monday series. Please surf over and visit, see what else has been submitted.



19 comments:

  1. Yum! This looks delicious. I love chicken breasts made this way.

    I agree with you. My rice cooker is one of the most important appliances that I use.

    ReplyDelete
  2. This sounds awesome...love the nuts...and it seems that everything I've cooked over the last couple of days has rosemary in it...so I should probably just go ahead and add these to the list! Yummy.

    Oh, and I have the best rice cooker I could afford. ME! bwaaa ha ha ha ha..okay, not funny.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Coated chicken breasts are a must in my week meal planning. This is a great idea. They look very crunchy.

    ReplyDelete
  4. I have given up fried food and replaced frying with the oven grill ... much lighter! Your chicken looks perfect!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Velva - If my rice cooker died I'd buy a new one immediately!

    Girlichef - What kind do you have? I am jealous already.

    Katerina - This way it almost seems fried, much healthier. Thank you :-)

    Laura - I know what you mean, sometimes fried foods give me heartburn, nit to mention they aren't great for you. Thanks for your compliment!

    ReplyDelete
  6. Totally going to try these! They look great.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Yum! I love finding new recipes for breaded chicken cutlets since they are the only things my parents will reliably eat! These sound so tasty!

    ReplyDelete
  8. I love the nuts in the coating! You're making me think I need a Cooking Light subscription:) Looks terrific.

    ReplyDelete
  9. this is a really great recipe - very similar to one I do with catfish using creole mustard, love the crust with the panko and nuts

    ReplyDelete
  10. Oh that looks fabulous!!! And it's a good way to use that buttermilk I always have hanging around in the fridge!

    ReplyDelete
  11. Wow, this cutlets sure look yummie, love the idea of using panko :-)

    ReplyDelete
  12. My son can't get enough what he calls "chicken tenders" I'm so glad to see a recipe that is adult friendly and healthy too. I love pecans so I'll be making that substitution as well when I give these a try.

    ReplyDelete
  13. OMG, I even have all the ingredients for this around, except the buttermilk! This looks amazing! I have bookmarked the page so I can give these a try next time chicken comes on sale (God only knows when that will be...you are very familiar with my chicken issues in these parts!).

    ReplyDelete
  14. Crispy chicken breast here with this recipe!

    Bon appetit!
    =:~)

    ReplyDelete
  15. Just dropping by to say hello. HELLO! ;)

    ReplyDelete
  16. Yum that sounds good! And not that bad for you! I think I would sub the buttermilk with skim. Panko makes everything seem decedent so that would still be phenomenal!

    ReplyDelete
  17. Looks great. I love panko on chicken.

    ReplyDelete
  18. Cathy - Let me know when you do. We need to catch up!

    Joanne - Cooking Light rocks!

    Kim - I can send you my copy :-)

    Drick - Your catfish recipe looks good. We like catfish here.

    Creampuff - I always have to find ways to use up butter milk. This is a good way...and for cake, you could use buttermilk in that :-)

    Julianna - Panko rocks, doesn't it "-)

    Melissa - I am a fan of tenders too. Panko makes a different texture. Thank you for your nice comment.

    WC - Seriously you have the most expensive chicken I have ever heard of!! You'll really enjoy this one once you get to make it.

    Cajun chef Ryan - Thank you for visiting!

    Girlichef - Hello! I've had computer problems :-)

    Fotografiafoodie - Thanks! I love it when a tasty combo is a healthy too. Double bonus, thanks for visiting.

    Food Hunter - Thank you so much and thanks for visiting :-)

    ReplyDelete
  19. This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

    ReplyDelete

Welcome and thank you so much for visiting. If I don't answer you here I will get back to you on your blog. Also have had to switch to approving comments due to some SPAM lately. Alas...

It's been a good run...........