Today I’m going to write about a meal that I made- chicken parmesan and garlicky green beans, followed by chocolate and caramel fondue.
The chicken parmesan was a dish that I had never prepared before, made up of flattened chicken breasts coated in parmesan (hence the name) and with a hearty coating of marinara. The first step is to cut the chicken breasts in half, then put them inside a zippered bag and pound them, and pound some more. Then the chicken is coated in a variety of substances- first flour with salt and pepper, then egg, then panko bread crumbs and parmesan. After that, they are coated in marinara and even more cheese and baked. The coating protects it, and its flat shape helps it to cook evenly, so it was well cooked without being dry. The coating was savory, and the marinara added nice texture, along with the breadcrumbs.
Next I cooked the garlicky green beans, a very simple but delicious recipe. Lemon zest, toasted panko bread crumbs, garlic, salt, and parsley are combined to make a coating for the green beans. (The recipe actually called to add parmesan cheese as well, but since I coated the chicken a bit too thoroughly we were out). After the green beans are cooked, they are coated in the bread crumb mixture. This results in a lot of flavor, something I find to be lacking in many green beans. Add this to their easy prep and they’re definitely something I will make again!
Lastly, I cooked the fondue. The chocolate was extremely easy- cooking chocolate and heavy cream until melted, then adding vanilla and salt- but the caramel fondue was a little bit harder. You add butter, brown sugar, corn syrup (I substituted honey!) and salt to a pot, until melted. This results in a dreamy, thick paste with a remotely sand-like consistency. Then it is boiled, and heavy cream is added. Both fondues tended to turn out watery, so if I re-create this recipe I will probably add less heavy cream. We served the fondue with strawberries, apples, and marshmallows. The chocolate fondue was overpoweringly chocolate-y, so next time I will probably use milk chocolate rather than semi-sweet. The caramel fondue tasted lovely, and the honey flavor blended in nicely. It was a bit thin, but it still clung well to the strawberries and apples.
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