Rosemary & Walnut Oven-Fried Chicken

It's always a weird experience to make something a few times and then go back to the recipe and find you've been doing it wrong, or have been missing a big step each time.  I'm having that experience right now, except that every time I have made this recipe it's been delicious!

This is a super busy time of year and like a lot of people, I like having recipes on hand that are totally delicious, crowd pleasing, easy, and I don't feel the slightest bit guilty about.  This one is awesome.  

Yes, this is another recipe from Cooking Light Magazine.  More specifically, it's by a woman named Laraine Perri, who when googled turns up all kinds of delicious results from some pretty major publications.  I plan to really explore some of her recipes later because if this one dish can be so good when I leave out steps, I'm excited to see what else of hers I can cook incorrectly yet deliciously.

Rosemary & Walnut Oven-Fried Chicken

by Laraine Perri, featured in Cooking Light, November 2012

(with all the proper steps)

Serves 4 / Total Time: Maybe 30 minutes max

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup low-fat buttermilk (if you don't have buttermilk, use slightly less than 1/4 cup milk with a splash of apple cider vinegar and let stand for a minute or two)
• 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
• 4 (6 oz.) chicken cutlets
• 1/3 cup panko bread crumbs
• 1/3 cup finely chopped walnuts
• 2 tablespoons grated fresh Parmesan, Parmigiano-Reggiano, or Asiago cheese
• 3/4 teaspoon minced fresh rosemary
• 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground lack pepper
• cooking spray
• Rosemary for garnishing

Preheat oven to 425º.

Combine buttermilk and mustard in a shallow dish and whisk together.  Add chicken to buttermilk mixture, turning to coat.

Heat a small skillet over medium-high heat.  Add panko to pan and dry fry for three minutes, or until golden, stirring frequently.

Combine panko, walnuts, cheese, rosemary, salt and pepper in a shallow dish and toss. 

Remove chicken from buttermilk mixture and dredge in panko mixture.  (Discard buttermilk mixture.)

Put a wire rack on a large baking sheet and spray with cooking spray.  Arrange chicken on the rack and give them a quick spray with cooking spray.

Bake at 425º for 13 minutes or until chicken is done.

According to Cooking Light, a 1 piece serving has the following stats:  Calories: 292 / Fat: 9.6g / Protein: 42.7g / Carb: 6.8g / Fiber: .09g / Chol: 101mg / Iron: 1.6mg / Sodium: 471mg / Calc: 66mg