Chicken Francese

Chicken francese is possibly my favorite type of chicken. I love that you can get it just about anywhere. I love that it has a nice lemony taste. I love that the chicken has a nice flaky coating. Love love love. It's just a classic for me and my family. For my sister's graduation party I needed to make 11 pounds of chicken francese. I didn't have a recipe that I have made and loved so I did a search and saw that this recipe was highly regarded everywhere.

Let me start by saying this was pretty good. It was a bit runny in my opinion, I like a thicker sauce, but it still tasted good. It could have been runny because I made such a huge quantity though. The chicken had a strong lemon taste and a nice texture. I will tell you this recipe was a mess for me though. I spilled the sauce everywhere when I tried to transfer it to the trays. The chicken got tough because I guess I overcooked it a bit and then it say in sterno trays for awhile. Gah! Other people really liked it though so I guess I am my own worst critic. I want to try this recipe again when I'm not making 11 pounds of it, that's for sure.

Source: Tyler Florence

Ingredients:

4 skinless, boneless, chicken breasts (about 11/2 pounds)
All-purpose flour, for dredging
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
4 large eggs
3 tablespoons water
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 lemon, with rind, cut in thin rounds
1/2 cup dry white wine, such as Pinot Grigio
1 cup chicken broth
1/2 lemon, juiced
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/4 cup chopped flat-leaf parsley

Directions
Put the chicken breasts side by side on a cutting board and lay a piece of plastic wrap over them. Pound the chicken breasts with a flat meat mallet, until they are about 1/4-inch thick. Put some flour in a shallow platter and season with a fair amount of salt and pepper; mix with a fork to distribute evenly. In a wide bowl, beat the eggs with 3 tablespoons of water to make an egg wash. Heat the oil over medium-high flame in a large skillet.

Dredge both sides of the chicken cutlets in the seasoned flour, and then dip them in the egg wash to coat completely, letting the excess drip off. When the oil is nice and hot, add the cutlets and fry for 2 minutes on each side until golden, turning once. Remove the chicken cutlets to a large platter in a single layer to keep warm.

Toss the lemon slices into the pan and cook for 1 to 2 minutes, until fragrant. Add the wine, broth, and lemon juice, simmer for 5 minutes to reduce the sauce slightly. Roll the butter in some flour and add it to the skillet, this will thicken the sauce. Stir to incorporate and dissolve the flour. Reduce the heat to medium-low and return the chicken to the pan; place the lemon slices on top of the cutlets. Simmer gently for 2 minutes to heat the chicken through. Season with salt and pepper and garnish with chopped parsley before serving.