Chicken For Dinner

"They must be popular because I've never heard of them," our neighbor and self confessed luddite quipped while her daughter and I rattled on trading recipes featuring and professing our affection for Panko bread crumbs.
"James love them too," I said. "In fact he is having them for dinner tonight." And with that our dinner menu was settled.
I butterflied and pounded (just a bit) boneless skinless chicken breasts until about plate sized. I dipped each breast in seasoned milk and then in a mixture of seasoned panko breadcrumbs and grated pecorino Romano cheese. Pressing to make sure the coating adhered I laid the chicken in a skillet with hot olive oil. After about 4 minutes on each side the chicken was tender and cooked through and the crust was flaky and golden brown.
Meanwhile, beet greens -- a gift from this same generous neighbor -- sautéed in a separate pan with olive oil, garlic, and crisped pancetta.
Schnitzel, Milanese, Paillard, chicken fried, Katsu -- nearly every cuisine has a similar dish because it's quick and just plain good.
Crispy, silky, crunchy all one one plate.

Roasted Winter Vegetables

Today I took a little time to roast a big platter of farmer's market fresh vegetables -- perfect for a light lunch or a dinner side for James along crispy pork chops or mashed potatoes and grilled sausages, as a topping for salads and grains for me. With the oven at 400º I peeled and quartered parsnips, sprayed them with a bit of oil, sprinkled on S&P and popped them in for about 45 minutes -- turning once as they cooked. Whole thin carrots were coated with spray olive oil and dusted with za'atar -- delicious with carrots and cauliflower. Carrots also roast for about 50 minutes turning once as they cook. Brussels sprouts -- one of James' favorites -- were trimmed and halved and again lightly sprayed and seasoned with S&P before 30 minutes in the oven. The beets were wrapped in tin foil packages and put directly on the oven racks for about 50 minutes until the skins slipped off and they were tender throughout.