Dinner

Tonight I cooked again. I made hazelnut crusted chicken with a creamy gorgonzola sauce, but I couldn't find hazelnuts when I was shopping, so mine was really walnut crusted chicken. It turned out well, but I'd recommend being careful if making this in a small apartment - the chicken was getting smoky when I was cooking it and my smoke alarm started going off.

Ingredients

• 2 heaping tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon poultry seasoning
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 2 large egg whites
• 1 cup chopped hazelnuts, available on baking aisle
• 4 (6-ounce) pieces boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• Salt and pepper
• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 cup whole milk
• 1/2 cup Gorgonzola
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh sage leaves, plus extra for garnish – substitute 1 teaspoon dried sage and stir into sauce, if fresh is not available

Directions

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.

Mix flour, poultry seasoning and garlic powder in a dish. Beat egg whites in a shallow plate or bowl. Place hazelnuts on a piece of waxed paper or plastic wrap on a cutting board or work surface.

Preheat a nonstick skillet with oven safe handle over medium high heat. Season the chicken with salt and pepper. Turn in flour to dust the breasts, then turn in egg whites, then press breasts into nuts on both sides. Wash hands. Add extra-virgin olive oil to the pan and add chicken. Brown the nuts and chicken 2 minutes on each side then transfer to the oven and finish cooking the chicken through, about 8 minutes.

In a small pot, warm milk over medium heat. Add cheese and melt it into the milk. Stir in 2 tablespoons of chopped sage and simmer 5 minutes.

To serve, place chicken on plates and pour a couple of spoons of the Gorgonzola sauce over the center of each piece. Garnish with chopped sage.

-Kat