Around the time my son turned three and a half, we started having early family dinners all together and it quickly became one of the best parts of my life. The meal, acting as a way to bring us all together and hear each other out, is the highlight of my day. I never could have anticipated the genuinely interesting and hilarious insights that would come out of the mouths of the kids, or just the general feeling of closeness and happiness. The other night, my daughter turned to my son and said, “When we get older, we’ll eat dinner together, right?” This comment made me realize how important these family meals are to my children too. The food can be as simple as can be, even Chinese takeout—just all of us sitting together without television, BlackBerrys, and the like, is gold. Sometimes we can’t pull it off because life gets in the way, but when we can, I always feel tremendous gratitude.
These tried and tested main courses have come out of my kitchen many, many times. We like it simple, we like it rustic, we like it delectable, and, above all, we like it to say home. Some are super simple, some require a bit of time, but none will fail you. There are two basic family friendly categories here that most of the entrées fit into—the prepare ahead option and the quick and delish option.
chicken milanese: four very special ways
CHICKEN MILANESE IS ONE of the most simple, most satisfying dishes. I like to cut my son’s chicken into strips and panfry them, squeezing on a bit of lemon at the end for good measure. The four topping options on the following pages are as easy as they are diverse—choose according to your tastes. If you are having a group, you can make all four and serve them in the middle of the table—your guests can choose.
SERVES: 4
ACTIVE & TOTAL PREPARATION TIME: ½ hour for the chicken plus time for each topping
4 skinless, free-range, organic boneless chicken breasts, washed and dried (See Salt Scrubs for Poultry, here)
1 cup milk
2 cups plain bread crumbs (Japanese panko makes the crispiest crust) mixed with 1 teaspoon freshly ground pepper and 1 teaspoon coarse salt
½ cup extra virgin olive oil, divided
Place the chicken breasts between two pieces of baking parchment paper. Using a mallet, pound the chicken breasts until they’re very, very thin–you should be able to almost see through them–about ⅙-inch thick. Put the milk in a shallow bowl and the bread crumbs on a large plate. Dip each piece of chicken into the milk and then dredge it in the bread crumbs, tapping off the excess. You should have a thin, even coating.
Heat ¼ cup of olive oil in a large nonstick skillet big enough to hold 2 pieces of the chicken in a single layer. Cook for about 4 minutes on the first side, or until evenly browned and crisp. Flip and cook for an additional 2 or 3 minutes, or until the other side is browned and crisp and the chicken is firm to the touch. Wipe out the skillet and repeat with the remaining ¼ cup of olive oil and the remaining 2 pieces of chicken.
note: You can also remove the tenderloins from the chicken breasts and make “Mini-Milanese” for the kids.
SLOW-ROASTED CHERRY TOMATOES & ARUGULA
ONE OF MY BEST FRIENDS once called me in a panic—she had to cook dinner for her boyfriend and did not know what to make—she had never cooked anything. I described how to prepare the Chicken Milanese and winged this topping—it was a hit. She, and I, make it to this day.
ACTIVE PREPARATION TIME: 5 minutes (For quicker preparation time, the roasted cherry tomatoes can be made ahead.)
TOTAL PREPARATION TIME: 50 minutes
2 cups cherry tomatoes
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, divided
Coarse salt
2 cups wild arugula
1 tablespoon high-quality balsamic vinegar
Preheat the oven to 400°F.
Place the tomatoes in a small baking pan and drizzle with 1 tablespoon of the olive oil and a pinch of salt. Roast for 45 minutes, stirring occasionally, until they’re split and blistered and super sweet.
While the chicken is cooking, toss the arugula with the remaining tablespoon of olive oil, the vinegar, and a pinch of salt. Fold the tomatoes into the arugula.
Place one piece of chicken on each of four dinner plates and mound a handful of arugula over each piece, making sure everyone gets plenty of tomatoes.
note: It’s nice to mix ½ teaspoon of dried oregano into the bread crumbs of the Chicken Milanese recipe for this version.