If you’re like Tess and I, the first mild day before the time change causes a shift in our mindset. Officially over the winter, we begin a pre-spring reset. We all know the drill regarding Marie “Kondo-ing” our closets, etc. and we’re onboard. But this time around, almost a year into our blog, we realized the recipes, cookbooks, and even the website needed a thorough Spring cleaning. How many of us print new recipes to try and buy exciting cookbooks to explore-without purging those we rarely or never reach for? Here at Moments, we realized it was past time to deal with this. Our binders were exploding, and we were running out of room for books. Even our website needed trimming up to make it more user-friendly. Although the process took a little time commitment, it was well worth it! Being able to easily access our most memorable recipes, and grab our favorite cookbooks without having to shuffle through stacks made the exercise a success.
Start by blocking out some time to tackle this. While Tess dealt with the website, I scheduled time to sort through the binders first. Then I tackled our cookbook collection. Be ruthless! There are always new and exciting recipes and books coming our way from favorite authors, chefs, and TikTok (let’s be honest). I was actually shocked by the amount of recipes we purged. Regardless, in the end we freed up space to add new favorites to our stash of “can’t survive without” recipes. It’s what we live for!
P.S.
After you’ve lightened your recipe and cookbook load, add this perfectly breaded Milanese-style chicken breast and bright, citrusy salad to your new favorites:) Enjoy your spring cleaning!
Chicken and Salad Milanese Style
Ingredients
For the chicken
- 4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves (trimmed; tenders, if any, removed), each 4-5 ounces
- 1-2 cups fine dry bread crumbs
- 3 large eggs
- Fine sea salt and freshly ground pepper
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, plus more if needed
- 1/4 cup olive oil, plus more if needed
- 1 lemon, cut into 4 wedges
Instructions
- TO MAKE THE SALAD: Toss the celery, cucumber, bell pepper, herbs and greens into a bowl. Pour the oil, lemon juice and vinegar into a small jar, season with salt and pepper and shake to blend. Set the salad and vinaigrette aside until needed. (If you’re going to chill the chicken breasts, cover and refrigerate the salad.)
- WORKING AHEAD: If you can bread the cutlets and give them a few hours in the fridge before sautéing them, do it. A chill gives the coating time to firm and dry a bit, so you get a crisper cutlet.
- TO MAKE THE CHICKEN: Center a rack in the oven and preheat it to 300°F, to keep the first batch of cutlets warm while you cook the rest. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a double layer of paper towels. Have another baking sheet lined with parchment or a rack to hold the breaded cutlets.
- Sandwich the cutlets between sheets of parchment or wax paper and pound them with the bottom of a skillet or the at side of a meat tenderizer.
- Set out three shallow bowls (I use soup plates). Put about 1⁄2 cup of breadcrumbs in each of two bowls and crack the eggs into the third bowl; put the egg bowl between the other two. Season the crumbs and eggs with salt and pepper and lightly beat the eggs to break them up.
- One by one, dredge the cutlets in the first bowl of crumbs, run them through the eggs and then coat them in the second bowl of crumbs, placing the breaded cutlets on the lined baking sheet or the rack. Replenish the bread crumbs as you go, if needed. If you have time, chill the cutlets, uncovered. (The breaded cutlets can be refrigerated for up to 8 hours.)
- Set a large skillet—nonstick is great here—over medium heat. Add 1 tablespoon of the butter and 2 tablespoons of the oil, and when the butter is melted and the bubbling has subsided, slip in 2 cutlets, or as many as fit comfortably in the pan. Cook until the breading is golden on the underside—adjust the heat and tilt the pan as needed so that the chicken, not the butter, browns—then carefully turn the cutlets over to cook and brown the other side. You’ll need about 3 minutes on each side, but this will vary according to thickness—it’s best to cut into the center of a cutlet to test. When the cutlets are golden and cooked through, transfer them to the second lined baking sheet and pop them into the oven to keep warm.
