One good thing about coaching is you make many friends in many different places because of “job relocation.” Leaving friends is tough but making new ones is always a blessing.
Last weekend, two couples who were a pair of my personal role models (from two job stops ago) stopped by and stayed for church and lunch on their way to their yearly visit to see the bluebonnets in the Texas Hill Country. I was so excited to see them but began deep cleaning the house and going over and over what I would serve them.
As they pulled out of the driveway on their way to Fredericksburg, my oldest son turned to me and said, “Boy Mom, they must have been really important to you for you to go to all that trouble.” That night as he pulled out the leftovers from Sunday lunch and cut himself a piece of Red Velvet Cake, he repeated, “Boy, Mom, they must have been really important to you for you to cook this much good stuff.”
It made me think: “Why do I pull out all the stops for company but not for my family?”
The next night, I vowed to prepare my family a meal that was just as good as the one I served during Sunday lunch.
I went to my “no-fail cookbook” (I have many, but this one is my newest), “Rachael Ray 365: No Repeats”. Everything I have made in this cookbook has been drop-to-your-knees delicious, including No. 267, “Pretzel-Crusted Chicken Breasts with a Cheddar-Mustard Sauce.”
4 medium (quart-size) plastic food storage bags
4 small whole boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 5-ounce bag of salted pretzels, any shape
1 TBS fresh thyme leaves, chopped
Freshly ground black pepper
2 eggs
Vegetable oil, for frying
2 TBL unsalted butter
2 TBL all-purpose flour
2 cups milk
2 cups grated sharp yellow Cheddar cheese
1 cup grated extra-sharp white Cheddar cheese
2 heaping TBL spicy brown mustard, such as Gulden’s
Coarse salt
1/4 cup fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves, chopped
1/4 small yellow onion, finely chopped
1 large sour dill pickle, finely chopped
1 lemon, cut into wedges
Sprinkle a little water into the food storage baggies. Place 1 chicken breast in each bag and seal it up, pushing out excess air. Use a mallet or the bottom of a heavy pot or pan and pound each breast until flat, just shy of busting out of the bag. Repeat with the other three chicken breasts.
Place the pretzels in a food processor or blender and grind until fine. Transfer the ground pretzels to a shallow dish and add the thyme and some pepper. Crack and beat 2 eggs in a second shallow dish with a splash of water. Working with 1 pounded chicken breast at a time, coat the breast in the ground pretzels, then in the eggs, then in the pretzels again. Preheat a large skillet with 1/4 inch of vegetable oil; add the pretzel-coated chicken breasts to the hot oil. Cook in a single layer, in 2 batches if necessary, about 3 or 4 minutes on each side, until the cutlets’ juices run clear and the breading is evenly browned.
While the chicken is frying, in a medium sauce pot over medium heat, melt the butter and add the flour to it. Cook for 1 minute, then whisk in the milk. When the milk comes to a bubble, stir in the cheeses and mustard with a wooden spoon. Season with a little salt and pepper and remove the cheese sauce from the heat.
Transfer the fried pretzel-crusted chicken breasts to servng plates, drizzle with the cheddar-mustard sauce, and then sprinkle with a little parsley, finely chopped onions, and finely chopped pickles. Serve immediately, with lemon wedges alongside.
4 servings
This isn’t as difficult as it sounds and every single person in our family of six went back for seconds.
Share This
Long ago on the coaching trail, two fellow coaches wives famously lugged a thermos of steaming hot coffee to football games. They savored that first sip — all I wanted to do was warm my hands other the mouth of the jug. Years later, I too became hooked on coffee and now understand their crazed approach. We now make coffee in a 12-cup pot in our house and it’s usually a race to see who is lucky enough to drain the last drop. The Coach, who is known for his thrifty ways often tells me that “Life is too short to cut corners on good coffee.” (I say the same thing about shoes….) My father has always advocated coffee from Dunkin’ Donuts (and converted The Coach) - it was a staple in our neighborhood growing up - but it is difficult to find in our area. The only way I could get my hands on it was through mail-order, and it was pricey after you added shipping and handling. You can imagine my joy when I when I read this morning’s 
