i have to apologize first off because i don't have a picture, but my excuse is that i do not have a picture because i ate my dinner so quickly that the flash from my camera had absolutely no time to go off. this chicken is delicious and incredibly simple to make. i hope you enjoy!
p.s. in the future i will try and make posts in a more traditional recipe format, but i keep track of the way i prepare meals rather haphazardly as i rarely cook anything the same way twice. keeps my kitchen fun that way.
3 - 5 (depending on how many you're feeding) boneless skinless chicken breasts, fat trimmed off
salt, pepper, dried basil, garlick powder, and / or any other spice flavor combinations you would like to make
2 - 3 Tbs butter (the more butter the better, imo)
rinse off your chicken breasts and pat them dry with a paper towel. place them on a workable surface to season them. over medium(ish) heat melt the butter in a heavy skillet or cast iron pan. season one side of your chicken breasts (i prefer a lot of seasoning, but i know that varies upon taste) and pat the seasonings into the chicken so it sticks when you turn them over, turn them over and season the other side so they are pan ready (also patting the seasonings in on this side, as well).
when the butter is all melted in your pan place your chicken breasts in ... now comes the most important part of this entire cooking experience: DO NOT PLAY WITH YOUR CHICKEN. the trick to perfect pan friend chicken is not over-turning it. pan friend chicken is tender, retains juices like you will not believe, but the trick is not to play with it. once you put your chickens down in the butter just leave them. (do not even smoosh them around. walk away if need be.) do NOT cover the pan, in fact, steaming the chickens actually makes them tougher and will also ruin this perfect chicken cooking technique.
after 3 - 4 minutes, flip the chicken over and allow it to cook happily, without being played with (again) for another 5 minutes or so. not smooshing the chickens around will also allow the seasonings to make a perfect little crust of happiness on your chicken breasts. depending on how thick your chicken breasts are you may need to turn them once or twice more after the 5 minutes are up. chickens should have a nice brown seasoning crust on them. i cook my chicken to 165 degree internal temperature, as they will continue cooking after you take them off the burner.
when your chickens are cooked to 165 internal temp remover them from the pan and cover them on a plate. here is where you can get creative.
tonight i made a pasta with this chicken. i used Bertolli's 4 cheese Rosa and tossed some of the pasta sauce w/ noodles and reserved the rest of the sauce for the buttery leavings in the chicken pan. after removing the chicken from the pan i quickly threw in some chopped garlick (like a Tablespoon, but i LOVE garlick) and browned it for about a minute before adding in some of the pasta sauce, a bit more basil and a lot of pepper, and a little parmesan cheese. i stirred that together and used it as a sauce to top the chicken.
an alternative to this recipe that is one of my favorites is using crushed rosemary instead of basil. after removing the chicken i sauté up some red onions, zucchini, and an occasional tomato or red pepper and deglaze with a bit of white wine and lemon to top both the chicken and a bit of pasta (carb junkie, right here.)
this variation on chicken should allow you a lot of room to play with flavors. try pairing your favorite seasonings and veggies and if you have any questions please feel free to leave them in the comments. i will keep my next recipe to less that, oh, this many words, but i felt like this needed a bit of extra explanation.
let me know what you think!!
happy eating,
kerry
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