Sometimes I wonder if being a blogger isn’t more difficult than being a restaurant chef. I know for a fact feeding a family is certainly a more daunting task, because it not only requires the skills of a chef, but those also of a menu designer and purchasing agent, and you rarely have a staff of prep people and dish washers to lessen your work load.
With prices skyrocketing these days we find that even the lowly ground beef prices are becoming insanely high, but don’t despair we still have a friend at the market. When economic times get tough we turn to chicken for cost effective and tasty meals, I know those prices won’t won’t last forever but I’ll take them for as long as it lasts.
In my restaurant days it was always a challenge finding new ways to serve chicken so that my customers didn’t get board and felt as though they were getting a good value for their money. One of my favorite dishes to make as well as eat was Chicken Sorrento.
The history on this dishes goes back to a little Italian restaurant I worked at many years ago, family owned and operated. My friend John had found a great deal on a closed restaurant and asked me to help renovate and open his restaurant. While I was working on the menu, he told me about a dish his aunt had made when she had first come to America, he had the basics down but didn’t have a clue as to how she made it. After a few test runs this recipe was declared the winner. I hope I did her memory justice.
It wasn’t really a complicated dish, just a few components put together in the right order so that each mouthful of this delicious dish was moan worthy.
As I moved to different restaurants through out my career, this was one dish I always took with me. In fact we’ve even had it at school a few times. It’s a very flavorful chicken dish and served with pasta it will satisfy the heartiest appetite. Add a loaf of good Italian bread and a salad and you’ve got a restaurant style meal in the comfort of your own home, at a fraction of the cost of going out. You’ll save enough making this dinner at home to buy the lobster on your next trip to Costco!
- 8 boneless skinless chicken thighs
- 1 small eggplant peeled and sliced longways
- 1 cup of flour
- 1 cup of seasoned bread crumbs
- 2 cup eggs lightly beaten with 1/4 of water added to make your eggwash
- 1 cup sliced mushrooms
- 1/4 lb of proscuitto sliced very thin
- 1/4 lb of provolone cheese
- olive oil as needed to saute chicken and fry eggplant
- 1 cup marinara sauce
- 1 cup chicken stock
- splash of white wine
- pinch of granulated garlic
- pinch of granulated onion
- pinch of black pepper
- 2 tablespoons of grated romano cheese
- Preheat oven to 300 degrees
- Set up a breading station : flour , eggwash, bread crumbs and bread the eggplant cutlets.
- In a large saute pan over high heat add enough olive oil to the pan to fry one side of the eggplant at a time. fry each side until golden brown, set on paper towels to drain.
- Empty the oil from the saute pan and wipe it out with paper towels.
- Add about two tablespoons of olive oil to the pan and allow to get hot over medium high heat
- Dredge the chicken thighs in flour seasoned with sea salt and black pepper, then place into pan with hot oil, sear one side of the chicken and turn over, then add sliced mushrooms to the pan.
- Cook over medium heat, allowing mushrooms to cook until soft, at this point the chicken should almost be fully cooked.
- Add a splash of wine to stop cooking, add chicken stock, spices and romano cheese and mix well. Reduce heat and allow to simmer for 5 minutes.
- Fried eggplant cutlet, add a few spoons of marinara sauce on top of the eggplant
- Add chicken thighs, top with thinly sliced proscuito
- Add mushrooms and some of the sauce to each sorrento
- Top with provolone cheese and place in the preheated oven for 10-15 minutes
- Serve with your favorite pasta or side dish and enjoy!
Thanks for stopping by today, and I hope you get a chance to try this delicious dish. Have a happy week my friends, were counting down the days till Spring officially arrives!
A very interesting recipe, Chef. And I definitely concur with your observations about feeding the family, being a sous chef, dishwasher, etc. A lot of work! 😀
Thank you Kiran, I don’t think people without families realize just how much goes into feeding them.
Oh this is so delish! My family will love chicken prepared this way. I will bookmark this and make it for my boys soon. Thanks for sharing & Happy Monday, Chef Dennis!
Thanks Betty Ann, I struggle with different ways to prepare chicken and this has such a nice blend of flavors, it’s always welcome at my table. I hope boys enjoy it!
This is a delicious sounding creation and I can see why it moved with you.
Thank you Larry, I hope you give it a try
What a comforting meal chef! Sounds great!
Thank you, It was a very tasty and satisfying meal Raven, I hope you get a chance to try it!
I would like to make this for a dinner party – for 10. Can I do this ahead and then heat the stacks up prior to dinner? I would rather spend time with my guests.
Thanks Chef
hi Cheryl
that should work out fine. Set them up in stacks on a cookie sheet and then finish them off in the oven when you’re ready.
Good luck!
I would have the mushroom topping in a pan finished ready to heat so its nice and hot when you’re ready to serve
Hi Chef, dinner party was an enormous success. One guest commented that it was restaurant quality. The sauce was delicious. I made extra and every drop was gone.
It was relatively easy although a bit time consuming, and I only made minor changes – fresh mozzarella instead of provolone and I used vegetable stock for the sauce.
The best was one guest came in who was just diagnosed with lactose intolerance and a sensitivity to gluten. The stack was very easy to deconstruct for her.
Thank you!
I’m very happy to hear that you and your guests enjoyed the chicken and that you were able to take care of your guest with the food allergies.
Happy Holidays