My in-laws love the Cheesecake Factory, so we end up eating there quite often. It’s great because of the variety and ability to ‘please’ everyone’s taste buds. The menu offers anything and everything you could think of. I actually tend to think it is a bit overwhelming - the menu is a small (or rather large actually) novel. What like 50 pages or so? Because of that, we end up getting tired of trying to find something new to eat, and end up with the same decision each time. My father in law usually gets salmon, my mother in law usually a salad, my husband a sandwich of some sort and then my brother in law and I always end up with the same dish - Crispy Chicken Costoletta. This particular chicken dish is delicious, but is probably three times the amount of food I should eat in one sitting. I am also quite sure health is not taken into consideration when it is cooked. I found on one website the calorie total is 1290 - holy cow! So my mission this week - to create something similar for half the calories.
A lot of things keep bringing me back to this dish - the thin pieces of chicken, the delicious creamy sauce and fresh lemon flavor. So how could I recreate this? First up, the thin pieces of chicken, otherwise known as a cutlet. Some people will just take the chicken, stick it in a plastic bag and beat it to death with a rolling pin or kitchen mallet. No fun for me and quite unsuccessful I might say - the chicken never gets any thinner. I prefer to take my chicken breasts and cut them into two. This works really well because the chicken I get tends to be a little thicker. With chicken cutlets, not only do you end up eating less, it doesn’t take as long to cook. Win, win. I should start cooking this way more often! So onto the lemon flavor. I know a lot of people use bottled lemon juice, but I strongly recommend using fresh lemon. Part of the intense flavor in my recipe is obtained from the zest of the lemon, where all the essential oils live. If you need a refresher on how to zest a citrus fruit, check out my instructions here. If you don’t have a microplane, you can use a grater, but you may want to consider purchasing one. They are one of my kitchen essentials (more on this later) and really pretty inexpensive. Lastly, the cream sauce. Traditional cream sauce is just that - heavy whipping cream. I decided to attempt to make it a little healthier and did half cream, half plain greek yogurt. One downfall is the risk of curdling when working with heat and any dairy product, especially yogurt. Make sure to stir the yogurt well before you add to the pan and then continue to stir while it heats slowly and mixes.This takes practice and I will admit, I still find it difficult. Feel free to use all cream if you don’t want to risk it.
A lot of things keep bringing me back to this dish - the thin pieces of chicken, the delicious creamy sauce and fresh lemon flavor. So how could I recreate this? First up, the thin pieces of chicken, otherwise known as a cutlet. Some people will just take the chicken, stick it in a plastic bag and beat it to death with a rolling pin or kitchen mallet. No fun for me and quite unsuccessful I might say - the chicken never gets any thinner. I prefer to take my chicken breasts and cut them into two. This works really well because the chicken I get tends to be a little thicker. With chicken cutlets, not only do you end up eating less, it doesn’t take as long to cook. Win, win. I should start cooking this way more often! So onto the lemon flavor. I know a lot of people use bottled lemon juice, but I strongly recommend using fresh lemon. Part of the intense flavor in my recipe is obtained from the zest of the lemon, where all the essential oils live. If you need a refresher on how to zest a citrus fruit, check out my instructions here. If you don’t have a microplane, you can use a grater, but you may want to consider purchasing one. They are one of my kitchen essentials (more on this later) and really pretty inexpensive. Lastly, the cream sauce. Traditional cream sauce is just that - heavy whipping cream. I decided to attempt to make it a little healthier and did half cream, half plain greek yogurt. One downfall is the risk of curdling when working with heat and any dairy product, especially yogurt. Make sure to stir the yogurt well before you add to the pan and then continue to stir while it heats slowly and mixes.This takes practice and I will admit, I still find it difficult. Feel free to use all cream if you don’t want to risk it.
Hope you enjoy!
Chicken Cutlets with Lemon Cream Sauce
Inspired by Cheesecake Factory Crispy Chicken Costoletta
Servings: 4
Ingredients:
Flour, ¼ c
Salt
Pepper
Heaving whipping cream, ¼ c
Greek plain yogurt ¼ c
Lemon, 1 large
Oil
Parsley (optional)
Carefully, slice each piece of chicken horizontally into two pieces.
Better Bonus Tip: If you use frozen chicken, I find it easier to cut the chicken when it is not all the way thawed. If you are using fresh chicken, cut as soon as you take it out of the fridge while it is still cold.
Heat oil in a pan over medium high heat.
Sprinkle chicken with salt and pepper. Dredge in flour/lemon zest mixture (¼ c flour and zest from half of a lemon) and then add to oiled pan.
Cook for 3-4 minutes on each side, total of 6-8 minutes. Once done cooking, remove from the pan. If your chicken is thicker, it might take longer. It needs to be no longer pink and a minimum temperature of 165 degrees and ideally browned on both sides.
Lower heat to just about off and add cream, yogurt, additional lemon zest (the other half) and juice of half of the lemon to pan. Cook for a minute or two stirring continuously, scraping up the bits on the pan from the chicken. (Sorry, no picture of this - too tedious of a process).
Better Bonus Tip: Make sure to stir the yogurt well before you add to the pan and then continue to stir while it heats and mixes. Don’t let it boil!!
Once sauce is warm and slightly thickened, drizzle over chicken. Garnish with a fresh herb for a pop of color if you have one, an additional squirt of lemon juice and a lemon slice. Serve with a side of mashed potatoes and your favorite green veggie.
Better Bonus Tip: So I feel like I overdo it with bread crumbs - I use them all the time, but this would be a perfect recipe to utilize breadcrumbs for an extra crispy outside.
~Ashley
Looks good -so, when are the in-laws invited for dinner?
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