Summer Chicken Cutlet

Time: about 20 minutes

Difficulty: pretty easy

So. I've been asked a number of times to start a food blog (I promise I have). Here it is, beginning with a lovely, thinly pounded slice of chicken.

A cutlet is a thin slice of meat, often veal, that is baked or fried. I personally find that the meat invariably ends up tasting like fried chicken when it's fried, so I prefer to bake it. There are three important components to this dish: the meat, the salad and the dressing. It's very important that all the ingredients in this dish be super fresh. There is no one flavor in this recipe; all of the ingredients are showcased together. This is what makes it such a beautiful, summer recipe. I dug up big, fat heads of garlic at my mom's (seriously, there is NOTHING like fresh garlic, not even garlic), I snipped off the tops of my basil plants sunning happily on my balcony and then picked the reddest tomato ever. I didn't slaughter the chicken though, that came fresh from the freezer, cold but cheerful.

As for the recipe:

2 large chicken breasts

1 large egg, beaten

1/2 cup flour

1/2 cup bread crumbs (I prefer Italian style)

1 ripe tomato, seeded and diced

1 package fresh basil (or if you're using your own, a great, big handful), chopped

1 head garlic (this is a head, mind you, not a clove)

balsamic vinegar

olive oil

salt to taste

Preheat the oven to 400*

Take the two chicken breasts and lay them on a cutting board. Cover the chicken with wax paper (or something comparable) and pound the chicken with a rolling pin (or heavy knife or brick or a small child, whatever's handy) until it's about 1/2 inch thin. Prepare three plates: one with the beaten eggs in it, one with the flour and one with the bread crumbs. Dip the chicken in the flour, then in the egg, then in the bread crumbs. Turn chicken over carefully to coat it as it's easy to end up with a wet, balled, bread-crumbed mess. Place the chicken on a non-stick baking sheet (or one that's been sprayed or coated with oil) and place in the oven for ten minutes.

In the meantime, peel all the cloves of garlic in the head and place them in a lightly oiled skillet on LOW for about 7 to 10 minutes, tossing occasionally (be careful and really pay attention, garlic burns quickly). The garlic should be softening and beginning to turn yellow when you take it off the burner. Combine the garlic, tomato and basil in a bowl and toss together.

The chicken has been in the oven for ten minutes and it's time to turn it over. Gently do so and allow it to bake another ten minutes.

Drizzle balsamic vinegar and olive oil over the salad and add salt until you like the flavor. I am a vinegar FREAK and could just drink the stuff, so I tend to overdo it a bit. I leave these things to your discretion.

When the chicken comes out of the oven, the coating should be nice and crispy; if it's not, put it under the broiler for about a minute. Put the chicken on a plate, top with salad (add more balsamic if you want) and have at it. This is pretty great served with penne or any type of pasta.

Easy peasy. The garlic in mine tonight is so good it made me weak in the knees.