French Bistro Salad with Tangy Baked Chicken Cutlets

French Bistro Salad with Tangy Baked Chicken Cutlets

INGREDIENTS

For the Chicken

• 2 pounds chicken cutlets usually 8 cutlets
• 1 1/2 cups panko bread crumbs
• 3/4 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
• 1/3 cup Duke's mayonnaise
• 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
• Salt and pepper

For the Salad

• 4 slices bacon, chopped
• 1/2 cup panko
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
• 4 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 tablespoons chopped shallot
• 1/4 cup red wine vinegar
• 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
• 1/2 teaspoon slat
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• 1/2 head escarole, trimmed and leaves separated
• 1/2 head frisée (curled endive)
• Garnish with shaved parmesan cheese and lemon wedges

INSTRUCTIONS

For the Chicken

1. Move one oven rack to a low position. Preheat the oven to 400F and place the chicken cutlets on a rack on top of a baking sheet. Spray the rack liberally with non-stick cooking spray and set aside.
2. Set out two medium bowls. In one bowl, mix the mayonnaise, mustard, 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. In the other bowl, mix the panko and parmesan cheese.
3. Place the chicken cutlets in the mayo mixture and toss to coat. Then one at a time, press each cutlet into the panko mixture on both sides to coat. Lay on the baking rack.
4. Bake in the lower part of the oven for 15 minutes. (Cooking low in the oven helps the bottoms to crisp up.)
5. If the tops haven’t browned, move the baking sheet to a higher rack and turn on broiler on for 1 minute. Watch to make sure they don’t burn. Serve warm.

For the Salad

1. In a 10-inch skillet cook bacon over medium heat until crisp. Drain on papertowels, reserving drippings in skillet. Add bread crumbs and half of the garlic to reserved drippings.  Cook and stir 2 minutes or until bread crumbs are brown. Transfer to a small bowl, stir in bacon and parsley.
2. For dressing, add 1 tablespoon of oil to skillet, heat over medium. Add remaining garlic and the shallot scraping up any crusty brown bits. Cook and stir 2 minutes. Remove from heat.
3. In a blender mix vinegar, mustard, salt and pepper with remaining 3 tablespoons oil plus shallots and garlic mix. Pulse until you get a creamy blended texture.
4. Arrange escarole and frisée on a platter and drizzle with vinaigrette. Serve salad over chicken and top with crumb mixture and shaved parmesan, and if desired, additional parsley. Serve with lemon wedges.