let's cook: crispy chicken cutlets

with a crunchy, springy, tangy salad

i meant to publish this recipe earlier this week but i blinked and suddenly, it’s friday. i spontaneously flew to florida this week for a family emergency so my timeline has been a bit skewed. i had every intention of working on this on the plane so it would be out and published on friday morning but waking up at 4:15 am for the flight got to me and i spent the flight eating cheez-its when i wasn’t intermittently sleeping the most shallow of sleeps.

crispy chicken cutlets are one of my favorite things to eat. although it’s different, it reminds me of being in milan for the first time. i had just landed and was beyond jet-lagged and so bleary eyed, all i wanted to do was take a shower and go to sleep but i was starving. i felt ravenous and that took precedence over how tired i was. i ordered a veal milanese from room service and it was one of the best things i’ve ever eaten. on a simple white plate, a generously sized, paper thin cutlet with perfectly crispy breading was served with a few thinly sliced potatoes that were flawlessy roasted. a thin lemon wedge sat on the edge of the plate. that was it and truly, nothing else was needed. sometimes i try to replicate that meal but with chicken (i can’t eat veal anymore). i’ll serve it with thinly roasted potatoes and a simple salad. when tomatoes are in season, i’ll serve it with a vibrant tomato salad that’s drippy with olive oil and lemon juice. other times, i’ll reheat a chicken cutlet and make it into a sandwich with a lot of peppery arugula, parmesan and calabrian chili mayo. this time, i decided to make crispy chicken cutlets with a spring salad. i was craving a salad that would crunch between my teeth; refreshing and toothsome.

i love meals that invoke a specific vision. as you’re taking a bite, your imagination takes you elsewhere. this is a meal that i imagine enjoying out in the yard on a balmy summer night. a day where it was almost unbearably hot, where the sun felt electric and relentless but gradually, the day melts into an evening where everything feels sentimental and nostalgic. there is a specific scent in the air; it smells of a past summer’s mistakes and pleasures. i imagine this meal with one too many glasses of a chilled red. maybe it’s just for you. maybe you have friends over for dinner. or maybe, it’s for you and a lover.

i hope you enjoy this meal as much as i do and i hope it makes you equally excited for warmer days and long leisurely dinners at home…