Breadcrumb crusted chicken with brussel sprouts

Until a few weeks ago I didn't think that I liked brussel sprouts. That all changed when my brother in law cooked the most delicious brussel sprouted dish for thanksgiving - brussel sprouts in a white cream sauce.  It was so good that I decided to try and recreate it at home with a Mastering recipe.

The first step in the process was to partially cook the brussel sprouts in boiling water (about 5 minutes in altitude) then shock them in an ice bath. This was a step that I kind of scoffed at, thinking that MC [Ms. Childs] was taking things a bit far. I have not taken a bath in about year, so why should these vegetables deserve better treatment? But to make sure I made the best recreation I could, I gave them a bath. Maybe it made a difference, who knows.

5 out of 5 on Yum scale

Next, I made the sauce mornay, which is a bechamel sauce with swiss cheese - which is a white sauce made with butter flour and milk. Did you catch that? It was about as easy to follow in Mastering,  it took 3 cross reference recipes spanning about 300 pages. But the sauce isn't hard - just make a butter and flour roux, add milk, boil and add in swiss cheese, salt and pepper. The sauce is sooo good on pretty much any dish. I just poured that over the sprouts with some parmesan cheese on top, and put it in the oven for 25 minutes. Even Ian, who actually doesn't like brussel sprouts very much, enjoyed the dish.

FAIL

The next thing I attempted was another risotto. I successfully made one a few weeks ago so I thought it would be cake. Oh, hubris, you got me. It was horrible, I cooked it for about an hour and the rice was still chewy. I think it was because I used 45 minute brown rice instead of 20 minute white rice, so much for trying to be healthy. Ian and I both tried to nibble on it with dinner, but gave up and tossed it out. It's been a while since my last fail, so I guess one was due. As least we had delicious brussel sprouts to cleanse our pallets.

breading the chicken

The main course was breadcrumb crusted chicken. The recipe calls for a whole chicken, but since I didn't want leftovers for days, I used chicken breast. The first step was to cook up some chopped onion and garlic with herbs (I used thyme). Then I combined that with dijon mustard. While that was going on, I broiled the chicken for 10 minutes on each side. Then I covered the chicken with the dijon mix and patted on the breadcrumbs. Then the chicken went back into the broiler for another 10 on each side. It was ok. -  moist and fairly tasty, but I've made a similar recipe before and like that better.

3.5 out of 5

Here's my stab at re-doing this dish:

2-3 chicken breasts, cleaned and sliced into 2in by 1in strips
1-2 eggs
1/4 cup milk
1/4 to 1/2 cup dijon mustard
2/3 cup parmesan
1/3 cup bread crumbs

Spice the chicken strips with salt, pepper and onion powder, set aside. Beat egg(s) and mix in milk and mustard [NB: you can just use the mustard without eggs and milk for a stronger spicy flavor]. In another bowl combine parmesan and bread crumbs. Dip the strips in the egg mix, then press on the bread crumb mix. Put in the oven for 20 minutes at 350. It's easier than the Mastering recipe, but I like it better. Next time I make it, I might copy MC and cook up some onions/garlic cloves and add that to the mustard mix. Also, I think broiling it at the end would be good to get a crunchy top to it. Even thought the meal wasn't the best one I've made, I'm glad to have rediscovered brussel sprouts...and eaten something with the yummy white sauce again!