Chicken Milanese with Tomato and Fennel Sauce

 This is a recipe from Food Network's Giada.  It was a definite do-over.  I made extra and kept the sauce separate so it wouldn't get soggy.  I will warm the chicken so it will be crispy and then warm the sauce to go over it.  I may make chicken sandwiches with some of it.




Printable Version
Ingredients for Chicken:
1/3 cup flour
2 large eggs
1 1/4 cup bread crumbs (I used Panco)
2 teaspoons dried basil
1 Tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
2 fennel bulbs
2 cups cherry tomatoes cut in 1/2
1 minced garlic clove
1 teaspoon dried thyme
4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
salt and pepper
1/3 cup vegetable oil (I fried mine in 1 Tablespoon olive oil-- second batch I added another tablespoon olive oil)
Ingredients for the Sauce
1 teaspoon dried thyme or 1 tablespoon fresh
1/4 teaspoon salt and pepper
1/2 cup mascarpone cheese at room temperature

Directions for Chicken
Place oven rack in the center of the oven and preheat oven to 150 degrees. Line a baking sheet with a cooling rack.  I added foil for easy clean-up, but it wasn't needed.

Make 3 containers for dredging the chicken 1) flour  2) eggs  3)bread crumbs, Parmesan cheese, basil, and thyme.  Pound chicken to 1/4-1/2 inch thick. Dredge chicken in flour, then, egg, then bread crumb mixture.  Cook until golden brown 3-4 minutes per side. Transfer to prepared baking sheet.
Directions for Sauce:
extra virgin olive oil to juices left from chicken. Add fennel and cook 5-6 minutes. Remove from heat and add mascarpone cheese. Season with more salt and Pepper. Plate chicken and spoon sauce over the chicken.  Garnish with fennel fronds if desired.