Father of Six

Yeah. It’s been that long. Sorry.

I made Chicken Pojarski for dinner today. Served with potato and cheese Pierogies and asparagus, it has become one of our favorite special occasion meals. ‘Round these parts, we call it “Donna Chicken.” Long story.

Here’s the deal.

This is a chicken cutlet entree. You could buy chicken breasts and food process them yourself, but it’s much easier and time saving if you can find ground chicken.

Add the meat to the chilled bowl. Season generously with nutmeg, and salt and pepper to taste. Next add melted butter, quantity varies, depending on how many people you are serving. Mix well.

Return the bowl and mixture to the freezer to chill. You want to be very cold when you shape the cutlets.

I like to do this part the day before the meal, including shaping the cutlets. So while I wait for the mixture to re-chill, this is what I do.

Next, using 1/2 a cup of the mixture for each cutlet, shape them into kind of a egg or pear shape. Football shape works too.

I return the cutlets to the refrigerator overnight.

When you’re ready to cook, you’ll need to prepare a dredging station. 1st flour, then lightly beaten egg, then bread crumbs. Dip one cutlet at a time into the flour, then in egg, then in bread crumbs. Press the crumbs gently into the cutlets then chill them until ready to cook. Warning – it’s a messy job!

Heat additional butter, cut with a little oil, in a large skillet on medium high, and carefully add the cutlets. Saute until golden brown (about 8 minutes) on each side.

I keep the cutlets warm in the oven while I make a paprika sauce to drizzle over the cutlets and pierogies. I also saute the pierogies in walnut oil.

And finally serve the dish with steamed asparagus. Snazzy plates optional.