Thursday, June 26, 2008

Barefoot Thursdays: Parmesan Chicken Tenders with Sweet and Spicy Ketchup

It's Barefoot Thursday, so get ready for a recipe from the Queen of Deliciousness, the Grande Dame of Good Living, the Barefoot Contessa, the inimitable Ina Garten.....
Good-bye New Orleans and hello humble home. At 1 AM I finally walked through my own door. My Quiet Man husband had the presence of mind to pick up every toy and vacuum and dust. I think I'm really truly deeply madly in love. A man looks his best when he's holding a squirt bottle of formula 409. Just my opinion.
So at 1 AM, I briefly considered getting my post ready, but instead made a beeline for my clean fluffy pillow. (Quiet Man washed the sheets too.) Seven hours later, I'm up and ready to share Parmesan Chicken Tenders with Sweet and Spicy Ketchup. Estimated Cost: $5.00

You've got to have a good breaded chicken recipe in your cooking arsenal. It's fast, easy, cheap and everyone of every age on planet earth will love them. Except your vegetarian friends, but you just make them a piece of breaded zucchini instead. Ina made an elegant salad with lemon vinaigrette on which she served her chicken. But its your world, so serve it the way you like. You could smother it with red sauce and cheese for classic chicken Parmesan, or you could serve it plain with a fun dipping sauce, like I did. It's kid friendly that way, and since I had about 856 kids at my house last week, the choice was easy.
Here's the skinny on breaded chicken. Although it doesn't photograph well, please save yourself some clean up work by using paper plates for prep. First, dip your chicken (I'm using tenders but any boneless cut will do) in a flour mixture. This will give the bread coating something to adhere to later. Next, dip your floured chicken in a beaten egg and water mixture. Finally, coat your chicken in a mixture of bread crumbs and Parmesan cheese. I like to let my chicken dry out on a rack for about ten minutes, just to help that coating stay put during the light frying process. Not necessary when in a rush, but helpful otherwise.Heat a couple of tablespoons of oil in a fry pan-just enough to coat the bottom generously. Make sure your oil is good and hot before you toss in your chicken. Resist the temptation to move your chicken around; just leave it alone and let it get good and brown on one side. Flip and repeat.
Here's a Food Network link to the complete recipe for Ina's Parmesan Chicken.
For my Sweet and Spicy Ketchup, simply combine 1/2 cup ketchup, 2 tablespoons brown sugar, and a generous pinch of cayenne or a couple glugs of Tabasco. Coming Tomorrow:Soy and Lime Grilled Tri-tip
It's so good to be home....

25 comments:

  1. I love the recipe for the ketchup dip - I'll bet my kids would like that too!

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  2. i love this recipe of ina's. i've made it before and served it on salad greens like she does. i've also sprayed it with olive oil and baked it. not as delectable as the light frying, but a bit on the lighter side.
    i can't wait to try your sweet and spicy ketchup. looks like a crowd pleaser.

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  3. The ketchup sounds great. We had so much left over a good dipping sauce would have made a nice addition to left over night!

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  4. My kids will sing my praises forever when I make this for them!

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  5. Your husband is a sweetie! I swoon when mine cleans too. So easy to please, huh?

    These tenders look delicious. I love anything breaded :) but am especially eager to try the sweet & spicy ketchup!

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  6. It looks great and I love the idea of the dipping sauce!

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  7. Sweet and spicy ketchup...I have to try that next time!

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  8. Thanks for the ketchup tip, that sounds tasty and very simple -- a great way to jazz up a pedestrian sauce.

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  9. They're beautiful! :) I lost some of the breading on mine, but it was still tasty! Nice job!!

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  10. The ketchup was a wonderful addition to parmesan chicken. Great job!

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  11. Welcome home Prudy! The chicken looks great and the husband sounds even better!

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  12. My daughter would love that ketchup dip! Your chicken fingers look delicious! And your husband sounds amazing!

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  13. I really enjoyed your tips for making this Parmesan chicken. I wish I had thought of letting the coating dry for ten minutes before frying and you made a lot of sense about topping or dipping the Parmesan chicken with anything that you like. Making the recipe personal. Thank you =).

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  14. We like to do ours as "dunkers" sometimes too!

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  15. Love that ketchup dip. I'll be trying that! :)
    Good lookin tenders.

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  16. I have friends with little ones, I will pass this on to them. Love the stories and I agree, a hottie wields a mean bottle of 409!

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  17. I love Ina recipes! That one is a tasty one. Glad you're home safely.

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  18. Wow love the chicken tender idea and the ketchup sounds yummy! :)

    I love your blog, such great ideas:)

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  19. oh wow! That looks so tasty! I am going to have to try it with the ketchup dip now!

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  20. Love the pictures--your chicken turned out so well! I love spicy ketchup and make it with curry too sometimes. The lime-soy marinade on the tri-tip also looks great!

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  21. This is going on the Weekly Menu for next week, can't wait to try it!

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  22. Mmmmm I love dipping sauce! Looks great!

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  23. just had this for dinner tonight with zucchini from the garden thrown in. (who doesn't love fried zucchini? apparently my children don't.) loved the sweet and spicy ketchup. was yummy with watermelon and leftover pasta and summer squash salad.

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  24. I just joined Barefoot Bloggers b/c of this post...I am excited to try this week's recipe! =)

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