Pound for pound: That's how to get the best of the breast, advises Carlsbad author
By: CAMERON LEIGH JAMES - For the North County Times
Cooking instructor Phillis M. Carey has been teaching students to "pound your chicken breasts" for more than 30 years.
"We've always pounded chicken breasts to make them large enough to stuff," said Carey recently at Kitchen Witch Gourmet Shop & Cooking School in Encinitas.
"It makes all the difference in the world. It's the long cooking that seems to toughen the chicken breasts. For instance, if you put chicken breasts on the grill without pounding them, you have to cook them 10 minutes per side. And after 20 minutes they're dry."
The Carlsbad resident teaches at Great News Cooking School, Voila! Cooking School, Kitchen Witch, and other Southern California schools. Three-time cookbook author and self-described casual gourmet, Carey's approach yields sophisticated results and keeps fuss to a minimum.
Skinless, boneless chicken breasts are the main ingredient in her latest cookbook, "Fast and Fabulous Chicken Breasts" ($17.95, Spoon and Whisk Productions). All 125 flavorful recipes are easy yet elegant solutions for everyday cooking and entertaining, too.
For starters, Carey shares her technique for pounding chicken breasts to guarantee moist, tender chicken breasts every time: rinse the breast and pat it dry. Trim excess fat or tissue. Lay a sheet of plastic wrap on a flat surface. Set the chicken breast shiny side down on the plastic and cover with a second sheet of plastic. Use a flat, Italian-style pounder (or heavy pan) to pound the chicken until it's even or about a half-inch thick.
Carey doesn't recommend buying chicken with additives to make it moist or juicy because it develops an odd texture when cooked. "Chicken is moist and juicy on its own, and perfectly tender ---- if you pound it," she said.
For aesthetics she removes the breast tenders and freezes them for another use. "If you pound the chicken, it's more evenly shaped and it (the tender) always falls off anyway," she explained.
"Fast and Fabulous" is divided into five sections, each based on a different method like stovetop sautes, baked or oven-fried, or combination cooking: from stovetop to oven.
With recipes designed for lighter summer fare, the grilling section includes sauces and marinades perfect for wraps and salads, like Chinese Crispy Chicken Salad With Hoisin Dressing. There's even a recipe for quick mole.
In the chapter titled "Wok Toss-ups ---- Not Just Asian," cooks can use those reserved tenders for Thai Ginger Chicken Toss-Up or Enchilada Chipotle Chicken Toss.
Carey specifies some prepared ingredients, like pesto, chutney and canned tomatoes, further streamlining the process. These are not "the cream of mushroom soup of the '70s," she said. "They're perfectly natural, and they're so good, there's no reason not to use them."
Many of the sauces in this book call for small amounts of cream or cheese. By adding chicken broth or wine to reduce fat, Carey retains the creamy consistency. As for the cheese, she says home cooks may reduce the amount specified, substitute a low-fat alternative, or eliminate it altogether.
"I think it's a fallacy, personally, that people eat low-fat," said Carey. "I don't know if they're just making my food for parties, or what they're doing, but my experience with my students is they will find a way to make it work."
"Straight From the Oven" is the largest section with 38 recipes. All use one of four oven techniques, including frying. "I love the oven-frying," said Carey. "I've found it works so well that I like to use it a lot."
Carey's favorite, Florentine Chicken Bundles With Lemon Basil Beurre Blanc, is in this section. She fills a pounded breast with a combination of spinach, provolone cheese and prosciutto, folds it in half and pinches the edges together, and then dredges the breast in bread crumbs and oven-fries it for about 15 minutes. She likes the entree for its versatility, because it may be served with or without the sauce. The sauce makes a fancier presentation, but the chicken is just as good without it.
Because the entrees are so flavorful, Carey recommends simple side dishes that won't overpower or compete. While she makes some recommendations in the book, home cooks should follow a general rule, she said: If your entree really stands out, choose a plain vegetable that exhibits color, and some kind of rice, potatoes or pasta, depending on the dish.
"If you're going to spend your time on something like pistachio crusted chicken breasts with herbs and mustard cream sauce," Carey said, "make it easy on yourself ---- you're going to have to pound that chicken!"
And she adds with a laugh, "You'll see ---- pounding chicken is very good for dealing with the day's events."
For more information and mail order links go to www.philliscarey.com.
These recipes are from "Fast and Fabulous Chicken Breasts."
The prosciutto gives this dish a stepped-up flavor that balances really well with the fresh basil added at the end. I have been known to use canned tomatoes in the dead of winter.
CHICKEN BREAST SAUTE WITH PROSCIUTTO, MUSHROOMS AND BASIL
4 boneless skinless chicken breast halves
Salt and pepper to taste
1/2 cup flour
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided use
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 cup shredded or chopped prosciutto
1/2 pound crimini mushrooms, sliced
1/2 cup dry white wine or vermouth
1/2 cup chicken broth
1 cup diced seeded plum tomatoes
3 tablespoons chopped fresh basil leaves
3 tablespoons freshly grated Parmesan cheese
Trim chicken breasts and lightly pound between two sheets of plastic wrap to an even 1/2-inch thickness. Season chicken with salt and pepper to taste. Place flour on a plate and coat chicken well, shaking off excess. Melt 2 tablespoons butter with olive oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Add the chicken to the skillet and cook 2 minutes per side to brown lightly. Remove chicken to a plate.
Add remaining 1 tablespoon butter to skillet along with the garlic and prosciutto. Cook 1 minute over medium high heat. Add the mushrooms and cook until most of the liquid evaporates and the mushrooms begin to brown, about 8 minutes. Add wine and bring to a boil, scraping up any browned bits from the bottom of the pan. Add the chicken broth and bring to a simmer.
Return chicken to skillet, turning to coat with sauce. Simmer chicken, uncovered, for 5 to 7 minutes or until chicken is cooked through, turning over once. Transfer chicken to serving plates. Stir tomatoes and basil into sauce and simmer until sauce thickens slightly. Spoon over chicken and sprinkle with Parmesan. Serves 4.
This is like artichoke dip baked on the chicken and, yes, you may use a reduced-fat mayonnaise in this recipe, but don't try it with fat-free!
ARTICHOKE AND ROMANO CRUSTED CHICKEN BREASTS
4 boneless skinless chicken breast halves
Salt and pepper to taste
1/4 cup mayonnaise
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tablespoon minced fresh basil
1 (14-ounce) can water-packed artichoke hearts, rinsed, patted dry and chopped
2 cups coarse fresh bread crumbs
1/2 cup freshly grated Romano cheese
Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Trim chicken and pound between two sheets of plastic wrap to an even 1/2-inch thickness. Arrange chicken on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Season chicken with salt and pepper.
In a small bowl stir together the mayonnaise, lemon juice, garlic, basil and chopped artichokes. Divide the mixture evenly among the chicken breasts and spread to cover the entire surface of each.
Toss together the bread crumbs and Romano cheese. Mound on top of each breast, covering completely and patting down lightly. Bake for 12 to 15 minutes or until chicken is cooked through and bread-crumb topping is nicely browned.
Tip: Use French bread, with or without crusts, or dense white bread for the bread crumbs. The bread can be stale but not dried out. Fresh bread crumbs will stick together when squeezed. Tear the bread into chunks and place in the food processor. Pulse to coarsely chop. When measuring, lightly pack the crumbs. Serves 4.
Cameron James is a freelance writer.
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