One of my fondest memories of my paternal grandmother is the way her home smelled when we went to visit. We always lived several miles away from her but any time we visited she spent the entire day preparing all of our favorite meals before our arrival. To her, food was love. She expressed her love for us by cooking for us and serving us.
There were three of us kids and Nanny always made each of our favorites. She has been gone for several years but I can still see her smile and hear her voice ask, “Do you like that, Doll?” as I took that first bite of the bowl of pasta with crab marinara (with lots of grated Parmesan on top) that she had placed before me when I walked through the door.
Nanny made each of us feel special by spending time lovingly preparing our favorite dishes, and by making altered versions of some of her specialties to accommodate each individual taste. She never once complained. It made her happy to see us happy. Nanny made the best lasagna. She layered her all-day sauce, pasta, and three kinds of cheeses… oh my mouth is watering! My mom is not a fan of ricotta cheese so my sweet Nanny made her a special pan of lasagna without the ricotta cheese. This act of love was not lost on me.
In addition to making all of our favorite dishes, Nanny and my Aunt Carol always had a big platter of chicken cutlets ready when we visited. There was always a green salad with oil and vinegar dressing and some crusty Italian bread served along side the cutlets. Throughout our visit we could always grab some cutlets and bread and make a quick snack if we needed one. (Uh… as if there wasn’t enough food in the house!)
My upside down salad stems from these memories. Each bite of my chicken cutlets was always topped with a healthy fork full of salad. I love my chicken and salad together. When you order a salad with grilled chicken in restaurants, you typically find the strips of grilled chicken placed on top of the salad. Well, since I like my vinegary salad piled on my chicken, I make mine upside down because that’s the way I like it.
As I fried up these chicken cutlets last night, the smell of garlic and olive oil filled my kitchen and brought back sweet memories of my Nanny’s kitchen. Isn’t it amazing how a fragrance can bring back a memory?
Upside Down Chicken Cutlet Salad
Ingredients:
- Chicken Cutlets (thinly sliced chicken breasts)
- 1 egg
- 1 tablespoon milk
- Italian Flavored Breadcrumbs (or Panko Italian Flavored Breadcrumbs)
- Olive oil for skillet
- Mixed greens
- Grape or Cherry tomatoes, cut in half
- Cucumber, cut in half and sliced
- Red Onion, quartered and sliced
- Celery, chopped
- Black olives, cut in half lengthwise
- Vinaigrette
- Shredded Parmesan cheese
(Note: My Nanny always used the chicken tenders but, since I like my salad heaped on top, I use either thinly sliced chicken breasts (I had those on hand this time) or chicken breasts that I butterfly and then pound thin so they will cover the plate. Feel free to do whatever is easiest for you.)
In a shallow dish, mix the milk into the egg. Pour the breadcrumbs into a separate shallow dish. (Amounts of egg and breadcrumbs depends on the amount of chicken you are cooking. Just eyeball it.)
Heat skillet over medium heat and coat bottom with olive oil. When pan is hot, coat each piece of chicken in the egg and then in the breadcrumbs and then place in the hot skillet. For thin cutlets, it should take only 3 – 4 minutes per side.
Remove cooked cutlets to a rack so they stay crispy. When ready to serve, place chicken on plate and then arrange salad ingredients on top or just to the side of the chicken. Drizzle chicken and salad with vinaigrette and sprinkle with cheese.
Another Note: Feel free to use your favorite vinaigrette with this. If you want to make your own, here is my favorite, all-purpose vinaigrette:
- 4 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 teaspoon cider vinegar
- 2 teaspoons balsamic vinegar
- 1 teaspoon grainy mustard
- Salt and pepper to taste
Begin with this combination and add garlic, shallots, tarragon, etc according to your taste. The above amounts will easily serve one with a little extra… which is good if you want to serve with crusty Italian bread to sop it up! Simply double, triple, etc. per serving.
Sweetest Blessings,
LeAnn
{ 5 comments… read them below or add one }
Oh Sweet Mercy!!! You had me at “the smell of olive oil and garlic filled my kitchen.”
This sounds amazing! I do love a salad with fried chicken : )
Your sweet post has brought back fond memories of my Nanny (she’s actually my great aunt but we call her Nanny b/c she’s like a grandmother). She always prepares our favorites when we visit and she always calls me “Doll.”
Thank you so much for staring She Cooks! I love coming to your site!
p.s. I am still on the mountaintop after She Speaks and now working on the next step. God is Good! Thanks for all your encouragement!
LeAnn~
This looks amazing! I bought some chicken breasts yesterday and was wondering this morning if I couldn’t come up with new way to fix it! I am going to try your recipe! Yay! Makes my mouth water looking at the picture!
Thank you for sharing, my friend!
Cheri
LeAnn, oo-ee, this sounds y u m m y!!! I’ve been meaning to tell you how much I appreciate the pictures-it is just like reading a recipe only better, cuz you give a commentary, too!
Certainly, you’re helping me with my time-management -deciding WHAT to cook, is always the hardest part for me! So, I just end up doing the same ole thing!
Bless you, Lori
Another yummy recipe for me to try. In reading your recipes, I know you like to use fresh, natural ingredients, so I thought I would share a little bread crumbs tip that I began doing years ago. Upon finding out that my husband has a severe allergy to sesame, I found myself struggling to find pre-packaged bread crumbs without it, so I began making my own. I chop up leftover end pieces from our bread loaf (we use 100% whole wheat) and store in the freezer. For seasoned bread crumbs I add 1/2 tsp. salt, 1/2 tsp. dried parsley, 1/4 tsp. garlic powder, 1/4 tsp onion powder, and 1/4 tsp. Italian Seasoning per 2 slices of bread. I love having bread crumbs handy and ready to go when I need it and I’m controlling the ingredients as well. Have you ever looked at the ingredients on a package of bread crumbs? Another product where you can’t pronounce half of the ingredients. I’m with you, if I can’t pronounce it I probably ought not to be putting it in my body : ) Thanks, LeAnn, for another great recipe. Can’t wait to give it a try!
Yum! I tried this last night when we had company over. It was a hit. SO easy to make, it will be added to our monthly rotation for sure. Thanks for sharing it with us!