Nuggets with honey mustard

I think that most people who have a blog don't post as often as they would like to, so I will try not to apologize for something that is arguably normal. I mentioned to my life coach (read: my sister) that I have a bunch of entries that I haven't published (mostly recipes) and she encouraged me to actually put them up. Since my blogging is at a lull, now seems like an appropriate time. Good things are coming, though. I am working on a BIG project (okay, maybe just regular big, uncapitalized), and really need motivation to finish the last 10%. Here's a hint: it's a piece of furniture. That I got for free from Craigslist. That I picked up from the side of the road and a man with alcohol on his breath helped me load into my station wagon. It's pretty awesome. So now that you know, I'm motivated to finish the last bits.

To get to today's entry, April loves chicken nuggets. I mean, I love them, too, but the other day when I made breaded chicken breasts, which are arguably the same thing, she looked at me with big puppy dog eyes begging that I make them into nuggets. I didn't, I made chicken parmesan, but the nuggets are pretty good. This is the recipe that we perfected together in a 13th floor apartment overlooking the sea in South America. So in addition to being delicious, these nuggets are also infused with sister memories and actual real-live magic.

Original post, 9/4/2011 4:37 PM

Double-breaded Chicken Breast Nuggets with Honey Mustard Sauce

Chicken Nuggets:

Ingredients:

2 large chicken breasts

2-3 pieces of bread

1 egg

a splash of milk

approx. 1/4 cup flour

oil for frying

heat oven to 350º

1) Boil chicken breasts until cooked through. We started with frozen chicken and ours took about 18 minutes. Cut or tear the cooked chicken into nugget-sized pieces.

2) Meanwhile, toast your bread to medium brown. When your bread is toasted, put the pieces in a plastic bag and crush into crumbs. (You could also put them in a food processer, but we're not that fancy. We use the back of an ice cream scoop.)

3) Crack the egg into a shallow bowl and add a splash of milk. On a separate plate pour a little less than 1/4 cup of flour. Pour your bread crumbs on another plate.

4) Take one piece of boiled chicken and cover it in flour. Holding the edges of the chicken, coat it in the egg mixture. Finally, roll the chicken in the bread crumbs. To double-bread, repeat the process with the same piece. Bread all of the pieces.

5) Place the breaded chicken pieces on a wire rack in the oven (we used our toaster oven) and dry at 350º for about 3 minutes. Meanwhile, heat 3/4" of frying oil over medium-low heat so it does not burn. We use a small saucepan in order to use less oil.

6) Fry the dried chicken pieces individually until they are a medium brown color. They cook in a matter of seconds so watch them closely.

7) Serve immediately.

Honey Mustard Sauce:

Ingredients:

3 tbsp mustard

1 tbsp soy sauce

1 tbsp rice vinegar

1 tbsp white wine vinegar

1 big, drippy teaspoon of honey

a pinch of salt

1 small clove garlic, finely chopped

5 fresh basil leaves

1) Heat a small saucepan on medium-low heat.

2) Add mustard, soy sauce, both vinegars, and the honey. Whisk to combine, cook for about 1 minute.

3) Add two tablespoons of water, the salt, garlic and basil leaves. Cook for about 2 minutes until basil begins to wilt.

4) Serve as a dipping sauce or over rice.