Crispy Chicken Costoletta with Mashed Potatoes and Asparagus

Well, apparently this is the best meal I've ever made. It's already been reordered. That means you have to try it!

First off, the Chicken Costoletta from the Cheesecake Factory:

I absolutely love that this chicken is so thin and tender, as do my tastetesters, Henry, Kevin and Melissa! This chicken only takes about 10-15 minutes to actually cook, but be sure to use a large skillet in order to get all of this chicken to cook together at one time.

The recipe doesn't call to cook the sauce in the same skillet as the chicken, but I did do this similar to a gravy. That definitely added some GREAT flavor. You can do it either way, but I just wanted to include that as your option.

Ingredients

The Chicken
4 chicken breasts, cut horizontally, and pounded to about 1/4 inch thick or chicken cutlets
Zest of 2 lemons
1 1/2 cups plain breadcrumbs (Try Panko Breadcrumbs)
2 tablespoons freshly grated parmesan cheese (optional)
2 eggs
2 tablespoons water
3 tablespoons flour
1 teaspoon ground pepper
1 teaspoon kosher salt
Lemon Sauce
2 garlic cloves, finely minced
1 tablespoon canola oil
2 cups heavy whipping cream
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice, plus 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
1/8 cup chicken stock
kosher salt
fresh ground pepper
1 tablespoon unsalted butter

Directions

For the chicken:.
Preheat oven to 200°F.

Zest two lemons. Bake zest for about 5 minutes until dry.

On one paper plate combine flour, pepper and salt. On another paper plate combine eggs and water, whisk until combined. On another paper plate combine dry lemon zest, bread crumbs and cheese.

Place pounded chicken in the flour, coating well, followed by the egg mixture and the bread crumbs.

Heat 2 Tablespoons olive oil and 1 Tablespoon butter in a large frying pan over medium heat.
Place chicken in pan and cook on each side about 5 minutes until middle is no longer pink. You will need to work in batches, adding more oil and butter as needed.

Keep chicken warm in oven at 250°F.

For the lemon sauce:
Over medium heat in a fairly large saucepan heat canola oil. Add minced garlic and sauté about 3 minutes.  Add whipping cream and boil until reduced by one-third.  Add Dijon, lemon juice, chicken stock and salt and pepper to taste. Simmer about 5 minutes.  Remove from heat and stir in butter until melted.
Serve chicken with lemon sauce and mashed garlic potatoes.

Secondly, the Mashed Potatoes from the Cheesecake Factory:

These were just...awesome. They need no other words. Just make them and eat them!  Here is my adaptation:

Ingredients

4 cups red potatoes
2 tablespoons horseradish
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 teaspoon salt, and to taste
3/4 cup gouda cheese, shredded

Directions

Cut away blemishes in potato skins, and cube.  Boil potatoes until very soft and drain off water.  Add butter and salt, and whip with a rotary beater until butter melts.  Whip in remaining ingredients.  Adjust seasoning.

Lastly, the Asparagus:

This is something that I learned several years ago, and I don't know where. When I make asparagus, I lay them out across a jelly roll pan and sprinkle olive oil all over them. I then sprinkle tarragon leaves on the asparagus. Put them in the oven on a high heat, such as 375 or 400 for about 10 minutes. Just make sure they are cooked!

You should all enjoy this fantastic meal!

Note: This post was edited on June 9, 2010.  This is STILL the most searched meal on Krista Kooks and still the sous chef’s favorite to come out of Krista’s Kitchen.