The most popular thing to eat in the USA?
Well, the most popular thing to eat is a sandwich. And you can see why…a couple pieces of bread, a few slices of meat and cheese, maybe some lettuce and tomato and you’re done in 5 minutes.
But the most popular food we eat here in good ol’ America?
Chicken.
Chicken!
There’s a lot of it, it ain’t expensive, and it’s available almost everywhere. The other day I was at the grocery store and noticed a package of chicken that had “air-chilled” written on the package. It was a little more expensive than the regular chicken. What gives?
Then I read an article in Cook’s Illustrated magazine. These guys and gals go way deep into food and cooking and they often get scientific and specific. They do elaborate tests. They don’t accept advertising, which is probably why the magazine costs around $300 a copy.
So when they recommend something, it’s been tested and tried and fried every whichaway. And they highly recommend air-chilled chicken.
So do I, Slim People. It tastes mo better. Why?
Chicken needs to be chilled to be safe to eat. In Europe, they chill chickens with air. In the US, most chicken is chilled by soaking it in cold water, water that’s sometimes…chlorinated.
Nice.
But air-chilled chicken is cooled by purified air, the chicken moves along tracks as it gets blown with frigid air. Kinda like going up an escalator in a mall during the summer.
Because the chicken is cooled by air and not in water, it cooks better, tastes better, looks better. It’s juicy, Lucy! The difference was noticeable to me, and I’m no chicken expert. Although I am considering a career move…
In this recipe, I used sun-dried tomatoes packed in oil. Olive oil, preferably. Anything except motor oil.
I’ve done this dish two ways, one with fresh basil, and one with thyme. If you use basil, you’ll need a small handful. You’ll need less thyme…
INGREDIENTS
3 tablespoons olive oil
½ cup flour
Salt and fresh-cracked black pepper
4 chicken cutlets (2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, sliced in half)
2 tablespoons butter
4 cloves garlic, smashed and peeled
¼ cup dry white wine
½ cup sun-dried tomatoes, cut into small pieces
Fresh basil (a ¼ cup, leaves snipped or torn) or fresh thyme (a big tablespoon, chopped)
HERE WE GO…
Put the olive oil in a sauté pan big enough to hold all 4 cutlets.
Turn the heat to medium-high.
Put the flour on a plate (I use a pie plate).
Sprinkle in some salt and fresh-cracked black pepper, about ½ teaspoon each, and mix.
Put a cutlet in the flour, dust both sides, and put it in the sauté pan.
Do this with all 4 cutlets.
Sprinkle a little salt and some fresh cracked black pepper on top of each cutlet, press it in!
Let the cutlets cook undisturbed for 4 minutes, or until pale gold on the bottom.
Flip ‘em over!
Cook on the other side for 4 minutes or until pale gold.
Remove them to a plate.
Turn the heat down to medium.
With a wooden spoon, gently scrape off any tidbits stuck to the bottom of the pan.
Add the butter.
Swirl it around, let it melt.
Add the garlic, and swirl it around for a minute or two.
When the garlic is pale gold, add the white wine and swirl for a minute or so.
Add the sun-dried tomatoes and give it a stir for a minute or two.
Add the basil or the thyme and stir.
Dish it up! Make it look good. Pour some sauce over the cutlets, garnish with a basil leaf or sprig of thyme, and…
MANGIAMO!
with thyme
