Chicken Christopher Basil Beurre Blanc

I recently learned that Morton's Steak House offers a crispy breaded chicken breast with a creamy white sauce they call Chicken Christoper. I have never had the pleasure of trying it, but have read recipes and watched many videos describing the various ways people have interpreted this delicious dish.

Here, a crispy golden brown, schnitzelled (is that a word?) crust, and a soft tender chicken interior, are complemented with a rich, delicious beurre blanc white butter sauce inspired by Sam the Cooking Guy's fantastic YouTube channel (check it out). I decided this is the perfect topping to a great Cesar salad. I make my Cesar dressing without an egg yolk, but only because I didn't have fresh eggs to work with. Otherwise, add an egg yolk to the dressing ingredients, by all means!

Cesar dressing:

1 cup good real mayonnaise

juice and zest of 1 lemon

1 tsp Dijon mustard

1 tsp anchovy paste

1 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce

1 clove garlic, finely minced through a press

freshly ground black pepper

Beurre Blanc sauce:

1/4 cup white (or red) wine vinegar

1/4 cup dry white wine

1 shallot, very finely minced

1 stick butter, in 10 or so slices, chilled in refrigerator

8 leaves fresh basil, julienned

2 skinless, boneless chicken breasts, pounded at least 1/2 inch

Dredging station:

bowl 1: 1/2 cup flour

bowl 2: 1 egg, beaten

bowl 3: 1/2 cup panko crumbs + 2 Tbsp pipitas (pumpkin seeds) (optional)

Whisk together the Cesar dressing ingredients and refrigerate.

Start the beurre blanc sauce. Add the vinegar, wine and shallots to a small sauce pot and bring to a gentle boil.

Cook the sauce until reduced at least in half, or to a thick-ish slurry. Remove pot from heat and reduce heat to lowest setting possible.

Now add two sliced cold butter and whisk into sauce. Return pot to lowest heat setting. When this butter is incorporated, repeat with remaining pairs of butter slices in succession from the refrigerator (butter needs to be cold during each addition). You should be generating a thick buttery sauce at this point. Stir in the basil and remove from heat.

Meanwhile, season the chicken with salt and pepper on both sides. Dredge the first slice in the flour, shaking off any extra coating. Then coat well with the beaten egg. Finally coat well on both sides with bread crumb mixture. Set aside while repeating the dredging process for the second breast.

Heat 2 Tbsp butter plus 2 Tbsp neutral oil (I used avocado oil) over medium-high in a large skillet. When oil mixture is hot and butter just begins to color, add the chicken pieces. Cook 2-3 minutes until the first side is just golden brown. Adjust the heat if necessary, so the breading does not burn. Flip and repeat on second side, until the internal temperature of the chicken is 165F, according to the FDA.

Return sauce to low heat just to rewarm. Serve chicken with beurre blanc sauce.

Serves 2-3.

Cook’s Note: Instead, you could absolutely serve this with your favorite sides like rice or egg noodles, or any veggie you love.

Chicken Piccata over Squid Ink Pasta

Serve this delicious lemony piccata over your favorite pasta. 2 boneless skinless chicken breasts, pounded to 1/2-inch thick cutlets 1/4 cup flour 1 lemon sliced and de-seeded 2 Tbsp butter plus 1 Tbsp olive oil 2 Tbsp capers 2 cloves garlic, minced 1/4 cup dry white wine crushed red pepper flakes, to taste 8 oz squid ink pasta fresh parsley for garnish Melt butter in the oil in a skillet. Fry the lemon slices for a few minutes, just until beginning to brown. Set aside on a plate. Lightly salt and pepper each chicken breast. Dredge the chicken in the flour and brown the first side of each in the butter mixture in the skillet. Flip to brown second side. Cook over low heat for a total of about 15 minutes. Meanwhile, bring 2 quarts of well-salted water to a boil for the pasta. Cook until just al dente. Remove chicken to a plate when cooked through. Add capers and garlic to skillet and cook 2-3 minutes. Season to taste with c

Umami Beef Short Ribs Samin Nosrat

This is the penultimate prep for beef short ribs. Based on the superb documentary by Samin Nosrat, Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat, this is the most umami rib dish you will ever have. Its the combination of red miso and soy sauce that marinates and flavors the beef - give it a long time to work right - that means overnight in the fridge; it's worth the planning ahead. 6 beef short ribs on the bone, about 3-4 lb 1 large sweet yellow onion, diced 2 stalks celery, diced 1 jalapeño pepper, minced 4 cloves garlic, halved Marinade: 1/4 cup red miso 1/4 cup soy sauce 1/4 cup pale dry sherry or Mirin rice wine 1 Tbsp sesame oil 1 Tbsp honey 2 cloves garlic, minced Salt the ribs generously with coarse salt and let rest overnight in the refrigerator in a resealable plastic bag. Whisk together the marinade. Pour into the plastic bag and allow to marinate on the counter for about 2-3 hours, or again overnight in the refrigerator. Preheat oven to 375F.

Tzatziki

Tzatziki is a wonderful Greek yogurt dip and condiment. It's great with pita bread or veggies, or as a topping on all kinds of grilled foods. Make sure you use a full fat, thick Greek yogurt, and that you squeeze as much water out of the grated cucumber as you can - you don't want a watery Tzatziki; it should be thick and rich. 1/2 English cucumber (about 6-inches), sliced lengthwise in half 1/4 tsp kosher salt 1 cup full fat Greek Yogurt (I used Fage 5%) 2 cloves garlic, grated with microplane or minced through a press 1/2 shallot, very finely diced 1 Tbsp fresh dill weed, minced (or 1/4 tsp dried dill) 1/8 tsp Aleppo red pepper (or fine-ground Korean chili pepper), or to taste 1 tsp red wine vinegar Cut cucumber in half lengthwise. Use a teaspoon to gently scrape out the seeds in the center of each half. Coarsely grate cucumber and toss in a colander with the salt. Allow to sit 10-15 minutes. Squeeze water from cucumber and then tip onto the center of a full-sized paper to

Cuisine Eric

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