CookingwithMavis: " ...'Mavis's Breasts "

COOKING WITH MAVIS # 8 “ …’MAVIS’S BREASTS …….”

I like breasts!…not all breasts…I don’t mind well-defined mens’ breasts…and fine about womens’ breasts……but I LOVE chicken breasts! And WHAT ‘ -MAVIS CAN DO WITH 2 BREASTS..welllllllllll……actually, 3 BREASTS….

...'Mavis's Breasts

‘ A PACK OF 3 BREASTS ’

Somehow, our supermarkets sell packs of 3 breasts…I often wonder how their “Suppliers” breed three-breasted chickens ? …but, never mind, as I know just what-to-do with 3 breasts!

For want of no waste when willing to play with wholesome plump breasts, I definitely have a plan in mind…well - more in mind too!

A pack-of-three-breasts-on-the-bone is so flexible…and can feed a family –IF you’re smart !. .

‘COOKINGWITHMAVIS’ uses 1 breast plus all the skin and bones to make a delicious stock for chicken soup. The other 2 deboned breasts will be flattened into glorious, mouthwatering schnitzels – enough to feed four.

‘COOKINGWITHMAVIS’ is open to options…and might change those proportions for ‘portions-other’….

***But, just for the two-of-us just, I’ll use only 1 deboned breast for schnitzels-enough …and 2 breasts for the soup!

Ingredients for Chicken soup:

For ‘Lean Jewish chicken soup’, just follow my recipe from ‘blog’ #4 : ”Computerpherous Angie” … using less chicken breasts, less water …to find this recipe, just scroll up to the top right of this blog, and click onto the month and that blog!

Ingredients for Chicken schnitzels :

……You’ll have to increase these quantities if you use more breasts!

1 to 2 deboned chicken breasts

2 to 4 slices white ‘sandwich loaf’ bread …crusts-and-all (a nice substitute is Japanese store-bought breadcrumbs = “Panco” , found in Asian supermarkets)

2 eggs

¼ cup flour (approx)

1 teaspoon paprika

¼ teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon chopped rosemary (optional)

¼ teaspoon white pepper (optional)

2 tablespoons water

Sunflower oil for frying

Ingredients to coat chicken breasts for schnitzels

METHOD:

1) You’ll need “mise en place” (pronounced “ miz ɑ̃ plas “ ) - it’s a French phrase - literally means: "putting in place" ….I suppose it’s the ‘pre-preparation’ (… the “prep”):

3 bowls, a chopping board, a whisk or fork, a flat baking pan /platter to rest your crumbed schnitzels prior to frying.

2) Put flour with salt and white pepper into 1 bowl.

3) Make fresh crumbs from the slices of bread (I blitz the hell out of those slices in the food processor) you could use readymade shop-bought…but not as nice!...or Panco), and put these into another bowl, and season with paprika, and rosemary (optional ).

4) Break the egg into a third bowl, add 2 tablespoons of water, an beat lightly with fork or whisk…just till the yolks really break and mix with the white.

5) Debone those 1 to 2 breasts with a sharp thin-pointed knife..slicing very close against the bone (‘carcass’) - use bones for soup

Remove the flavourful skin too…and set aside…to use for the soup, then on a board, place the deboned breasts between 2 sheets of clingfilm (“Gladwrap”) and a sprinkling of flour under and on top each breast.

Using a wooden kitchen mallet – or back of a heavy wooden-handled large kitchen knife, beat the living daylights out of those chicken breasts…to flatten-and-spread…flatten-and-spread, till almost ‘paperthin’. You’ll probably need to cut each flattened breast in half.

6) Carefully peel from the clingfilm, then…

- Place one-by-one into the bowl of seasoned flour, (if it breaks, don’t worry, you can bring it together while coating)

- Shake around

- Remove from the flour with a fork

- Place into the slightly beaten egg, remove

- Place into the bowl of seasoned fresh breadcrumbs,

- Shake around, and place generous amount too, on top…press onto the schnitzel.

- Place prepared breaded schnitzels onto a clean flat baking sheet/ or surface.

7) In a large frying pan, fry on a medium heat in some sunflower oil, till light golden brown on each side –about 2 minutes on each side. Remove from oil, onto kitchen paper-towel to drain excess oil.

8) ‘COOKINGWITHMAVIS’ serves these schnitzels with a fine array of cooked veggies, French fries /or boiled ‘jacket’ potatoes….and chutney as a delicious condiment!...and lemon wedges for squeezing….be daring, and sprinkle a garnish of chopped parsley over too.