Ingredient of the Week - Panko Bread Crumbs
Yes, it's a bit ridiculous to still call this Ingredient of the Week, given the infrequency of this feature, but what the hell.
Anyway, I'd like to tell you a bit about Panko bread crumbs. These Japanese bread crumbs have rocked my world. They were brought to my attention by Cooks Illustrated magazine, in an article on the perfect Chicken Parmesan. If you have only cooked with standard bread crumbs, you will be blown away by the results you get with Panko. The coarser texture of these crumbs yield a very crispy crust. I use these all the time. They used to be available only in Asian markets, but you can now get Panko at most supermarkets.
Tonight I wanted to make a version of Chicken Milanese, basically a thin chicken cutlet, breaded (with Panko, of course), fried, and topped with a chopped salad. My lettuce had turned, so the salad was just a tomato and some sweet onion tossed with sherry vinegar, olive oil, salt and pepper. It was a great, not too heavy dinner.
