Don't Chicken Out from the Breaded Cutlet

The dreaded breaded chicken cutlet in its frozen form is the main offender in many a mediocre meal, from pizza parlor Chicken Parmigiana to the mushroom-topped Polish variety to the bland Milanese Mexican torta. Our recipe below begins with fresh meat, dipped in egg and rolled in cornmeal, and lightly pan-fried to moist perfection. The thin cutlets take less than five minutes to cook thoroughly, making this a sure-fire staple for the hurried, harried or laconic home chef. Our two suggestions for serving are equally swift: either plop over a mound of pasta marinara or drape gracefully across a quick-tossed salad of mesculin greens and sliced oranges. We like it best as in the Cafe Drake photo above, sided with whole wheat ziti in a spicy tomato sauce and dusted with parsley and shaved onions.

6 Chicken Breast Cutlets /Flour -- as needed /1 Cup yellow cornmeal /1/4 Cup Parmesan Cheese -- grated /1/8 Teaspoon Pepper -- fresh grind /1/8 Teaspoon Salt /2 Tablespoons Milk /2 Whole Eggs /1/2 Cup Olive Oil

1. Mix together cornmeal, cheese, salt and pepper in a large shallow bowl.
2. Dust each cutlet with flour, dip in eggs (beaten with a T. or so of water) then dredge in cornmeal mixture.
3. Heat oil until moderately hot then fry each cutlet for 2-3 minutes per side, depending on thickness.
4. Drain on paper towels and serve hot, as above, over salad or pasta.