Crispy Buffalo Chicken Sandwiches with Creamy Ranch Slaw

When I decided this morning I was going to make dinner tonight after work, I thought ahead and took the chicken out of the freezer!  I rarely think ahead when it comes to dinner, and I end up defrosting meats in the microwave because I'm impatient.  The "chicken" was in a blue grocery bag, and I simply took the bag out, put it in a bowl, and left it in the fridge to defrost.

I stopped at the store on the way home to pick up some cheese, cabbage, and some rolls, because I decided on buffalo chicken sandwiches.  (Sidebar:  I asked for one pound of white American cheese at the deli counter.  Usually when someone slices my stuff, if it's a little bit over, instead of exactly one pound, they let it go.  No, this man sliced 1.04 pounds of cheese, and he TOOK two slices of cheese off. C'mon, man, I wanna know what you did with that cheese.)  Anyway, I get all the way home, get out my ingredients and try to get started.  I opened the bag of "chicken" to see if it was thawed out yet... it was beef.  Ground beef.  Gosh, it couldn't have all just been flawless, huh?  BACK to the store I went...

Anyyywho.  To make these wonderful sandwiches, you will need:

3 large chicken breasts - filleted to make 6 cutlets
1 cup all-purpose flour
2 eggs + 2 tbsp. water
6-oz. Panko breadcrumbs
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese
2 tbsp. dried parsley
1 tbsp. garlic powder
Salt and Pepper
2 cups vegetable oil
6 oz. Frank's Red Hot Buffalo Sauce
2 tbsp. melted butter
12 slices pepper jack cheese
6 kaiser rolls

1. Start by seasoning your sliced chicken breasts with salt and pepper.

2. Using three bowls, start by adding your flour to the first bowl, egg wash (2 eggs + water) to the second, and the breadcrumb, Parmesan, parsley, garlic powder, salt and pepper to the third bowl, incorporating all ingredients well.

3. Take the chicken cutlet and coat with flour.  Then, dip in the egg wash, and then the breadcrumb mixture.  Coat the chicken well with the breadcrumbs, patting down hard and making sure they stick all around!  (Sidebar, again! When I was a little kid, and my mom used to make chicken cutlets, I used to pull up a chair, really close to the counter, and say, "Mommy, can I pat?"  I guess that was the start of my culinary love!) Set finished cutlets on a baking sheet and stick in the refrigerator to chill out.

4. While your chicken is chilling (which will help the breadcrumb stick while cooking), prepare your pan.  Pour the 2 cups of vegetable oil in a skillet and heat until there are ripples through the oil.

5. When the oil is ready, add your cutlets to the pan, two at a time, ensuring you don't crowd the pan and bring the temperature down too much, too fast.  Your cutlets will almost "stick" to the pan until they are ready to be flipped, so don't get too impatient.  They basically tell you when they're ready.  You'll see the sides browning and crisping.

 Blurry, but could they have browned any nicer??

6. After all the chicken cutlets have been browned and cooked through, whisk the melted butter and Frank's buffalo sauce together in a large bowl.  Put the chicken in the bowl, and coat generously with buffalo sauce.

7. Cover each cutlet with two slices of pepper jack cheese, and broil on high until the cheese is bubbly and melted.  By putting the chicken back in oven, the sauce will also start to caramelize - YUM!

8. Brown your rolls in the oven, lay a chicken cutlet down, top with creamy slaw, and put the lid on the roll!  There you have a spicy, vinegary, buttery, crispy chicken sandwich!  Enjoy!

To make the creamy cole slaw:
Mix 8 ounces of cole slaw (purple and green cabbage sliced, shredded carrots, etc. that comes in a prepared bag is fine to use), 4 ounces of sour cream, 2 tbsp. ranch seasoning, and 1/4 cup vinegar together in a large bowl.  Add cracked pepper and mix all ingredients until incorporated.

Parmesan Crusted Cous Cous with Creamy Dijon Sauce

I brought home some Couscous the other day... well, not just some couscous, a lot of couscous.  8 cups, to be exact.  I just hate to see food go to waste, and I always think I can do something with it.  Which, generally, I can.  This time, I was unsure, though; I've never really worked with couscous before.  I threw out a few ideas - couscous stuffed potato skins, couscous stuffed shells.  But everything seemed like too much starch.  Then, this idea popped in my head, and I didn't know how it was going to go, but I just started mixing.  Read on to find out how to make these healthy, BAKED snacks!  ;-)

What You'll Need:

8 cups, cooked couscous
2 cups, cooked peas
1 cup, crumbled goat cheese
1 cup, panko breadcrumbs
1 cup, Pecorino-Romano grated cheese
2 tbsp. dried parsley
1 tbsp. garlic powder
2 tbsp. salt and cracked pepper
2 cups, flour
4 eggs

First, mix your couscous (use directions on package to prepare, or click here to find out some good tips) with the cooked peas, crumbled goat cheese, and whatever spices you would like to season everything.  Refrigerate while you are prepping the other things, so it will stick together and form balls more easily.

Meanwhile gather three medium-sized bowls and line them up in front of you.  The first bowl gets the flour, the second bowl gets the four eggs, beaten.  Then, mix the breadcrumb, grated cheese, parsley, garlic, salt and pepper in the last bowl. 

When I began rolling the balls, the couscous wasn't as "sticky" as I wanted it to be, but you just have to be patient and keep working it until the balls form.  Once you have 24 medium-sized balls (about the size of a nice Italian meatball), you can begin coating them.  I found it was easier to make all the balls first, and then coat them, rather then rolling, coating, rolling, coating.

Start with the flour, then egg, then roll the balls in the panko crumbs.  Set each ball on a broil pan so when they bake in the oven, they bake evenly, letting the heat circulate.  Spray the balls with a generous amount of cooking spray or olive oil so they brown nicely.  Bake on 450-degrees for 30-35 minutes, or until the balls have become crispy and golden brown.

To make the Dijon Sauce, add 8 ounces of sour cream, 4 ounces of creamy Dijon mustard, 1 tbsp. smoked paprika, salt, pepper, 1 tbsp. garlic powder and 2 tbsp. of white wine vinegar to a squirt bottle.  Shake/mix well until everything is incorporated.

" Would you say, your pesto is the best-o? "

It would cut me real deep if at least 75% of my readers didn't know where I cooked up the title of this post.  Yea, pun intended.  For the other (hopefully, only) 25%, check out Friends: Season 8, Episode 5, The One with Rachel's Date.

Phoebe: Oh you…you made pesto?
Tim: Yes I did.
Phoebe: Would you say your pesto is the best-o?
Tim: I…I-I don’t know, but I would say it’s pretty good-o. (Phoebe laughs way too hard.)
Monica: All right, I still need a calamari and a Caesar salad.
Tim: I like your necklace.
Monica: (Talking to herself) Coming right up Monica. I have to do everything you say, otherwise the system breaks down. I know that, then why are we having this conversation?
Phoebe: I made it myself.
Tim: You are so talented.
Phoebe: Well, it’s no pesto.

Laughter ensues.  Anywho -- check out my recipe below for a pretty great spin on a classic pesto.  Pine nuts are freakishly expensive, and using only basil is sometimes too strong of a flavor.  Read on to find out what I did to make my pesto, the best-o!

Tortellini Skewers with Pesto Dipping Sauce

What You'll Need:
1 1/2 cups, fresh basil leaves
1/2 cup, fresh spinach leaves
1/2 cup, chopped walnuts
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
2 tbsp. minced garlic
3/4 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil (you're going to want the really good kind for this)
Salt and Cracked Pepper

This is pretty simple!  Using a food processor, add the first five ingredients and pulse until they are coarsely chopped.  Then, stream in your olive oil while processing, until all ingredients are fully incorporated and it is smooth to your liking (I like mine as smooth as I can get it, some people like a bit more texture). Add the salt and pepper to taste, and viola!

I cooked off one pound of pasta, and skewered four large tortellini per skewer, and plated them next to a large bowl of this pesto.  But, you can serve your pesto anyway you see fit - brush on chicken while it's on the grill, toss over linguini with some sun-dried tomatoes and Kalamata olives (mmm, that one sounds good), spread on a grilled cheese with provolone and prosciutto, the possibilities are endless.

Comment below and tell me some of your great pesto recipes!




*picture courtesy of "Savory Catering"