Chicken Milanese, etc. (R)

Did this last night as a pre-birthday dinner for David Olson:

"Top a crisp cutlet with peppery arugula and ripe tomatoes for an easy, elegant summer meal." is the comeon for this recipe, from FC 66 (with my slight modifications, like a totally different kind of meat). Serves 2.

1 TB minced shallot
2 tsp red-wine vinegar
1/2 tsp dijon mustard
1 small clove garlic, mashed to a paste with 1/4 tsp salt with the side of a chef's knife

Whisk together, then add:

2 TB extra-virgin olive oil
pepper

Stir in:

1 medium (6-oz) tomato, cut into 8 wedges (I used some quartered large cherry tomatoes)

Set aside until ready to serve, up to 2 hours.

Beat two chicken breast halves between plastic wrap until 3/8 inch thick (I avoid this step by buying chicken cutlets that are already thin, and, as a matter of fact, I used thin pork slices for this, quite good -- I am a big fan of the very thin boneless pork chop for such things).

Break an egg into one of your little breading pans, and mix it up.
Put 1 cup dry bread crumbs into another, and season with salt and pepper.

In a non-stick skillet (big enough to hold the cutlets), put 2 TB salted butter and 2 tsp ex-virgin olive oil. Melt oveer medium-high heat while you

Dip the cutlets in egg, then bread. Fry about 2 minutes to a side.

Toss

4 oz arugula (either baby or cut-up)

in reserved vinaigrette. Put 1 cutlet on each plate and top with a tall pile of salad.

With this I served roasted potatoes (with rosemary and garlic), the first eggplant from the garden, and some of the last of the peas. A very vegetably meal. The arugula was from Ruth's garden, as ours has gone to seed and will not reappear until fall. Tomatoes purchased, of course, but it's nice to see our produce beginning to produce.

Strawberries for dessert. I whipped about half a cup of cream with a little sugar. Served the strawberries to dip into separate blobs of Hershey's Special Dark syrup (happened to discover it while purging the fridge yesterday morning) and whipped cream. Impromptu, informal, and good. I'd picked up a bunch of strawberries at a farm earlier in the day (as mom mentioned).

The garden is producing steadily now. Potatoes, onions, peas (of course, but ending). Kale, cabbage, broccoli. More to come. Also need to keep up with the black and red raspberries in the yard. Flower plots all a mess. No time. We should be done with Jane's house in another week or so (I'm currently cleaning the kitchen very thoroughly), and that should give time for the real garden onslaught.

Summer is a lot of work, but it's better than winter.

I finished The Stolen Child and liked it a lot. Wonderful book. Listening to another Botswana novel. Have I mentioned these?

Hot, hot, hot. I watered this morning for two and a half hours (Charlie is preparing the island countertop for tiling next week) until I couldn't stand to be outside any more. I plan to spend some of the day cleaning the new tile floor, which still has a lot of smudges of grout on it. This will be done in air-conditioned splendor, however.