Baked Chicken Kiev

I've been running out of ideas of what to make lately. I figured out that every time I go on a hiatus, it takes me a while to get back in the groove of cooking again. So I searched through a few of my favorite blogs and came across this recipe from What's Cookin' Chicago? The first and last time I had Chicken Kiev was a few years ago at my company Christmas party. The party was held at a Mediterranean banquet hall and they served a lot of food. But what stood out for me was the Chicken Kiev. And when I found this recipe, I was stoked. It brought back memories of that yummy chicken meal.

This recipe was originally adapted from Alton Brown's of The Food Network. This version, in my opinion, was better and healthier because it's baked as opposed to fried the way Alton Brown did. You have to pay close attention to the internal temperature of the chicken though. Mine came out slightly undercooked, so I cooked it longer than the original recipe. It also depends on how thick you pound the chicken to. I served this with some rice pilaf and a side of strawberry preserves the way it was served to me at the Christmas party. You can also use cranberry sauce. This came out so delicious and had burst of so much flavor from the melted herb butter in the middle. A friend surprised me with a visit this evening and I served her this meal and she was quite impressed with it. This recipe will definitely make it to my rotation.

8 Tbsp. (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature

2 Tbsp. unsalted butter, melted and cooled for the coating

1 tsp. fresh parsley, finely chopped

1 tsp. fresh tarragon, finely chopped

1 tsp. garlic powder, plus more for seasoning

1 tsp. kosher salt, plus more for seasoning

1/4 tsp. black pepper, plus more for seasoning

4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves

2 eggs, beaten with 1 tsp. water

2 cups Panko breadcrumbs

1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1) Combine the 1 stick of butter, parsley, tarragon garlic powder, 1 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon black pepper in a bowl of a stand mixer and whip together. Place mixture on a plastic wrap or wax paper and roll into a small log. Place in the freezer.

2) Place chicken breast, one at a time, between 2 pieces of plastic wrap. Squirt chicken lightly with water and squirt the top of the plastic wrap as well. Pound chicken to no less than 1/8 inch thickness. Season each piece of chicken with salt and pepper.

3) Lay flattened chicken breast on a new piece of plastic wrap. Place 1/5 of the compound butter and 1 tablespoon of breadcrumbs on the center of the chicken breast. Using the plastic wrap to assist, fold in the ends of the breast and tightly roll the breast into a log, completely enclosing the butter. Repeat with each chicken breast. Refrigerate prepared chicken for 2 2 hours or overnight. Wrap up the remaining 1/5 of the compound butter to use for the breading.

4) When ready to bake, preheat oven to 350 deg F.

5) Place egg and water mixture into a dish. Melt the remaining 1/5 compound butter and add it to the 2 cups breadcrumbs and Parmesan cheese into another dish. Stir the melted butter to the breadcrumbs and Parmesan cheese mixture to fully combine.

6) Dip chicken into egg mixture and then roll into buttered breadcrumb mixture. Gently place each chicken on a baking sheet, sealed side down. Bake until golden brown, about 20-30 minutes, or until internal temperature reaches 165 deg F. Serve hot with strawberry preserves of cranberry sauce.

*Note: You can freeze chicken for later use by placing them in a freezer bag or baking dish after coating. When ready to prepare, bake from frozen in a preheated oven at 350 deg F for 30-40 minutes or until the internal temperature reaches 165 deg F.