no. 141: sesame-panko chicken cutlets with rainbow slaw 🌈

Plus, my return to private cheffing!

I officially exited retirement and catered my first dinner since before my surgery. Spiritually, it felt SO good because I have genuinely missed the grind of shopping, prepping, shlepping, and cooking at these events. Physically, it felt better than anticipated, though I was pretty gassed for a full 48 hours after the dinner. What can I say? A bitch is out of shape!

The client was open to any and all ideas for the menu, which is always music to my ears. I decided to go for a bit of a Thai-inspired menu because my friend, Karlee, made me some grilled skirt steak with a Thai-inspired chimichurri a couple weeks ago, and I’ve been dying to recreate it.

Here’s what I made:

Family Style Mains

• Thai-Inspired Skirt Steak with Chimichurri

• Spicy Chicken Larb (ground chicken with herbs) with Assorted Veg & Lettuce Cups

• Coconut-Lime Rice

• Crispy Japanese Sweet Potatoes with Miso-Tahini Butter & Cilantro

• Roasted Garlic Green Beans with Toasted Cashews & Coconut

Dessert

• Salted Mango Bars with Whipped Coconut and Biscoff-Coconut Crust

Do we want any of these recipes? Let me know…

I also had the great pleasure of hosting Paulie (left) while his parents were out of town!!

I was suited up in my new White Bark work pants and hemp pocket t-shirt. I cannot stress enough how amazing these pants are. They’re so comfy and breathable. A lot of carpenter style pants are way too tight in the thighs for me in a way that deeply shakes my confidence, but these are NOT.

Both items are unisex, so refer to the size guide if you’re not sure what to order (I’m wearing a small pant and extra small shirt). Use code “TANE” for 10% off.

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Sesame-Panko Chicken Cutlets with Rainbow Slaw

Serves: 4

Active time: 25 minutes

Total time: 40 minutes

I may have had two recipe fails last week, but I am like a phoenix rising from the ashes, because this week’s recipe has been sustaining my body with life, love, and protein for the entirety of this week.

Scallops are my favorite food to cook, and crispy chicken cutlets are a close second. I think mastering the art of shallow frying these thin, breaded cutlets is one of the greatest tools to have in your culinary toolbox. The key is ensuring that the chicken is pounded thin enough so that the cutlets are fully cooked through right as the breading becomes golden brown and crispy.

Your standard breading procedure always goes as follows: flour, egg, then breadcrumbs. I like to play around with incorporating different ingredients as the breading, such as sesame seeds, toasted coconut, nutritional yeast, and my favorite, finely ground Cheez-Its.

For these cutlets, I used a combo of sesame seeds (black and white), Panko breadcrumbs, and grated Parmesan. I love the toasty, nuttiness that the sesame seeds add.

I found myself with a ton of leftover spring veggies from the event I catered and wanted to make sure it found a proper home. This rainbow slaw is highly riff-able, so use what you have. It requires a bit more knife work than the average salad, but it is SO worth it. I mean, look at the damn thing!

I had a head of gorgeous pink radicchio lettuce, but any leafy veg will work. I also had some radishes (watermelon, purple, and easter egg, to be specific) and beets (golden and chioggia, aka candy cane stripe) that I had sliced on a mandolin for the event, so I stacked those up and further sliced them into matchsticks.

Don’t get too hung up on the measurements for the slaw—as long as the vegetables are sufficiently dressed in oil and seasoned with salt, pepper, and lemon juice, then you’re doing great.