Dani's chicken parmesan with penne

For our inaugural Olin cooking club dinner, Edwin had already decided way in advance that he wanted to try and make a chicken parm recipe that he tried at our classmate Dani's house. It was a pan-fried chicken parm that did not use cheese, paired with penne and a tomato basil sauce, yum. We made a trip to our local Schnuck's supermarket for the necessary ingredients, and then it was time to go to town on our dinner!

I have to admit, for someone who has barely ever cooked a meal before in his life, Edwin really nailed this dish. Having very precise directions in the recipe also helped :P There were a few blunders along the way... namely when I accidentally dropped the penne that I was trying to strain right into the kitchen sink. Whoops! Back into the pot it went for a quick sterilizing boil haha. It took just about an hour to put everything together, and it came out just simply delicious. The aroma of the pan fried breaded chicken was so mouth-watering when we were putting everything together. Many times we contemplated just hoarding the entire pot for ourselves...



Dani's Chicken Parmesan with Penne

Ingredients: (serves 6)
1/2 cup olive oil
6 cloves garlic
2 tsp pepper flakes
28 oz. canned diced tomatoes
1/2 cup tomato sauce
1 bunch basil
box of penne pasta (about 12 oz.)
2 eggs
2 cups bread crumbs
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
paprika as needed
1 lb. thin-sliced chicken breast

Directions:
1. Heat 1/4 cup olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add garlic and saute for a few minutes. Sprinkle in red pepper flakes, saute for another minute. Pour in diced tomatoes and tomato sauce, and add basil. Simmer for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.

2. Meanwhile, bring large pot of slightly salted water to a boil. Add pasta, cook according to directions, and drain.

3. Heat remaining olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. In a bowl, whisk eggs. Place bread crumbs in a second bowl. Stir in garlic powder, salt, and pepper into bread crumbs. Dip each chicken breast into the egg, then coat with bread crumbs. Dip a second time into egg, and coat again with bread crumbs.

4. Gently place breaded chicken into heated skillet. Repeat for each chicken breast, and fry in skillet for 5 minutes per side, or until the coating is a golden brown color.

5. Stir cooked penne into tomato sauce, simmer for a few minutes. Cut up cooked chicken and toss in with pasta. Serve immediately, garnished with paprika.