Chicken Milanese

By Steph Farrar

If someone held a gun to my head and made me choose one dish to eat for the rest of my life, this is it. Chicken Milanese, breaded chicken, schnitzel, chicken nuggets, whatever you wanna call it. This is it. 

I add lemon zest, parmesan, and usually fresh herbs to my breadcrumbs.

Over the past several months, I've started a part-time organizing business, called Stay Focused Organizing. After an initial email blast to all of my friends and family, I've been able to secure several amazing jobs, helping organize not only their kitchens, closets, offices, and clutter-zones, but also assist in making space in their lives (and mind / soul) for growth in the areas that really matter. Initially, I thought to myself, after years of being a personal assistant, "yeah, I'm really good at getting people's shit together." But I really didn't expect that helping someone else get rid of stuff they don't need, stuff that gets in the way of everything, would help me begin to define my purpose.

Don't get me wrong, this is hard work. I'm pretty sure my back is out, my wrist has developed tendonitis or arthritis, and I know the Goodwill donation guy by first name. He's really sweet. 

But, it's extremely worth it. All kinds of worth it. In fact, it's so worth it, I wanna keep doing it as long as my body can still manage. Still not sure why I didn't start this business three years ago when I was actively looking for work and became employed by Satan incarnate. Ah well... we live, we learn. 

Love those super bright orange yolks. They're like glue for the panko.

During the second day of a week long job for one of my first clients, while organizing her kitchen, fridge and pantry, she asked me about some of my recipes and if she could learn a few from me. So in addition to organizing, I've found the dream... purge, organize, clean, teach, and enjoy the fruits of our labor over a plate of delicious food... that's my kind of day. We surprised my client's lovely husband with a "schnitzel" like his grandmother used to serve as a real treat. We won all the things that day. 

This is one of those recipes that you'll use for the rest of your life, and not just with chicken. "Breading" is a simple process that you can implement with other proteins like pork and veal, soft boiled eggs, and various vegetables. A lightly breaded zucchini bite with an aioli dip might blow your head off. So once you get this simple technique down, you can use it however you want. Just make sure everything is laid out from the beginning so your cook time is perfect for serving a hot plate of food.

Chicken Milanese with arugula parmesan salad

Ingredients:

• 2-3 tbsp or a big glug of olive oil

• 1.5 lbs boneless skinless chicken breasts

• 1 cup all purpose or whole wheat flour (or sprouted whole wheat flour)

• Salt and freshly ground pepper - I combine in one bowl

• 3 eggs, beaten

• 1.5 / 2 cups breadcrumbs, panko, or sprouted grain bread, toasted and pulsed

• 1/4 cup grated parmesan

• Zest of one lemon

• 2 tbsp chopped herbs, like basil, thyme, oregano, parsley

• 2 cups wild arugula

• Shaved parmesan

• Extra virgin olive oil

• Juice of half a lemon

• Salt and pepper, to taste

Directions:

Rinse chicken and pat dry. Place the chicken between two pieces of parchment paper and either beat with a mallet or roll flat with a rolling pin. You can also place the chicken in a plastic bag and beat it with a hammer. Whatever you have on hand! The thinner, the better. If you prefer your chicken thick, skip this step and add three minutes to your cook time. Place chicken on a large platter and season both sides generously with salt and pepper.

Lay out three shallow bowls. Fill one with flour, one with egg wash, one with breadcrumbs. Add the grated parmesan, herbs, and lemon zest to breadcrumbs. 

Heat oil in a saute pan or heavy bottomed pot.

One chicken breast at a time, dredge in flour first on both sides, egg wash, then breadcrumbs on both sides. You can place the breaded chicken on parchment paper at this stage, top with a second piece of parchment and press the breadcrumbs into the chicken by rolling a rolling pin over the covered chicken. But you can also skip this step. 

One to two pieces at a time, add the chicken to the pot. Cook on first side for three minutes. Flip and cook for an additional three minutes. Flip one more time and cook for 30 seconds. 

Place on a cookie sheet and let it rest. Continue with remaining chicken. 

In a bowl, add arugula. In another bowl combine 1/4 cup olive oil, lemon juice, salt and pepper. Whisk until emulsified. Line the bowl of the arugula with a bit of the dressing and gently toss with your hands. Arugula is very delicate. 

Plate chicken, top with arugula salad and shaved parmesan. Maybe give it a little salt and pepper pop for additional flavor. Enjoy!

If you're interested in any organizing work in your home or office, please leave a comment and I'll respond with a list of services and price listing! Or go to stayfocusedorganizing.com! 

Now pig out. 

xo

Everyday Whole Grains; Part 1

By Steph Farrar

One half of French and Farrar, me ... Steph ... is 5 days into an elimination diet called the Whole30. Two days ago, day 3, I was feeling strangely hungover and sluggish after wiping all traces of sugar, grains, dairy and alcohol from my system. My first thought upon waking up that day was, "what the hell am I doing?" and "I didn't drink last night, did I?" and "isn't this cleanse supposed to make me feel better?" Then I channeled an incredible Sunday, two weeks ago, where I indulged in delicious, healthy whole grains, drank Rose' and played in the kitchen with friends. Only 25 more days to go, and until then, I'll reminisce.

Sierra and I had the pleasure of hanging in my kitchen with the lovely Ann Taylor Pittman, executive editor of Cooking Light Magazine. She visited to cook a few recipes with us from her excellent, beautifully composed, and informative new cookbook Everyday Whole Grains.

Savory and Sweet Buckwheat Cereal

Ann, Sierra and I immediately jumped into getting to know each other while sharing knives and swapping stories. You can never really tell how well you might or might not get along with someone you've never met, but after mere minutes in the kitchen together, a friendship was born. Born over delicious, clean food. The first recipe is a simple Hot Buckwheat Cereal. In Ann's book she points to the savory option. We decided to throw in a sweet version, which makes for a great brunch bar, when adding fresh berries, honey and/or maple syrup. You could even add brown sugar and a little cream if you wanted to get crazy (that sounds so good to me right now).

He chose sweet - big surprise

Flynn liked it too. He literally ate the entire bowl.

Next we got really excited to stink up my house with the smell of roasted cauliflower. Tip: if you're ever having company, I suggest baking something like brownies or cookies... or even sautéing onions and garlic for that "wow, it smells so good in here" entrance. With the cauliflower, folks will enter to the sweet smell of dirty socks. Or feet. Or simply the smell of cauliflower.

This is almost the exact moment I cracked open a bottle of Rioja Rose'. We didn't even need an icebreaker, but for an afternoon hanging in the kitchen, without the stress of serving anyone, Rose' was the perfect complement.

The cauliflower is roasted, the berries are cooked and pat dry and now covered in a bit of tahini dressing. It all comes together beautifully. This is one of the easiest and tastiest salads I've ever eaten. One I will make often. Once I can eat damn grains again. So May it is!

Serve it up and chill

Thanks to sweet Ann for joining us in the kitchen and teaching us such yummy recipes. And to Zoe and Harry for helping out with photos and chasing Flynn around while we dined, dished and drank!

Savory and Sweet Buckwheat Hot Cereal

Recipes from Ann Taylor Pittman's Everyday Whole Grains

Ingredients:

• 2/3 cup cooked creamy buckwheat hot cereal

• 1 center-but bacon slice, cooked and crumbled

• 2 tbsp. reduced fat shredded cheddar cheese

• 2 tbsp chopped tomato

• slivered jalapeno pepper

• 1/2 cup mixed strawberries, blueberries, and blackberries

• 1 tbsp honey

• 1 tbsp maple syrup

Recipe:

Savory - Top cooked cereal with bacon, tomatoes, cheese, and jalapeños... add a pinch of salt and pepper if needed.

Sweet - Top cooked cereal with berries and honey or syrup.

Each serves 1

Kamut Salad with Roasted Cauliflower and Avocado

Ingredients:

• 3/4 cup uncooked Kamut berries

• 4 cups cauliflower florets

• 2 tbsp evoo, divided

• Cooking spray

• 2 tbsp tahini

• 2 tbsp fresh lemon juice

• 2 tbsp warm water

• 3/4 tsp Kosher salt

• 1/4 tsp black pepper

• 1 garlic clove, grated

• 2 1/2 ounces baby arugula

• 1 ripe, peeled avocado, thinly sliced

Recipe:

Preheat oven to 475 degrees.

Cook Kamut according to package directions. Drain and rinse with cold water. Drain again and spread evenly on paper towels to dry.

While Kamut cooks, combine cauliflower florets and 1 tbsp of oil on a foil-lined jelly-roll pan coated with cooking spray. Toss well to coat. Roast at 475 degrees for 15 minutes or until browned and crisp-tender.

Combine 1 tbsp oil, tahini, lemon juice, the warm water, 1/2 tsp salt, pepper, and garlic in a large bowl, stirring well with a whisk. Toss cauliflower with 1 tbsp of dressing. Add Kamut and arugula to bowl with remaining dressing, toss gently to coat.

Arrange 1 cup of Kamut mixture onto each of 4 plates; divide cauliflower and avocado evenly over servings. Sprinkle avocado with 1/4 tsp salt.

Serves 4

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Pearly's Malibu Salads

By Steph Farrar

I’m not a fan of words and insinuations like “luck” or “blessed” but if there were better choices to describe my new living situation, I would use them.

After a rushed sale and escrow from our beloved home in L.A., we are currently living with my in-laws, and I can’t help but feel a certain tinge of misdirected embarrassment coupled with absolute cozy wonder: something I didn’t quite expect when we made the choice to post up here in Malibu while we shop for a new roof over our heads. I feel snubbed by my own nose, turned up at living the good life in a Nantucket paradise, fed by an angelic woman who prides herself on taking care of family.

Random assortment for the grill

When I’m in Malibu at the Farrar’s home, I feel like I’ve been working the fields all day, sweating from picking strawberries, fingers bleeding from thorny roses. I only feel this way because I’m fed like I deserve it. I”m fed like a farmer whose crop is vibrant and productive, and whose hard manual labor merits a farm-to-table rainbow of flavor and color. Pearly (or Captain), as we call Sam’s mother, is the Masterchef of Sweetwater Mesa. She is den mother, head-of-household, gardener, seamstress, elegant hostess... the glue of the family. And I thank my stars she took to me so many years ago. Not just for the salads, but still...

That fine fine china

I lived my elementary years on Missionary Ridge in Chattanooga, TN, with a rope swing in my front yard hung directly next to a Civil War canon, which permanently rests just next to several sun-drenched blackberry bushes. The vine-canopied lunch spot next to a small (now) koi pond hovered over a concrete table with a matching Southern-style lazy-susan. I can still taste my mom’s award-winning (mainly in size) zucchini, corn and peppers brushed with homemade butter, served with filets from my grill-master father. That old stone house was built over two hundred years ago and is still as strong as any fortress I’ve ever seen. It was haunted too, as you can imagine. Just like the taste of the summer vegetables, I can still feel that friendly ghost in my closet.

Growing up with a sparse yet plentiful garden on a battlefield Ridge, I never thought a California beach town could ever produce such substance, such homely, good ‘ole times-like warmth, until I stumbled upon Pearly’s garden. I love that our little girl is just the right height to pick the hard-to-reach tomatoes, and that as she ruffles the leaves, that tomato scent I wish to bottle fills the air.

The walk

Pearly's Malibu Salads 9

I love the brisk walk to the end of the property where the large, protected grow boxes flaunt peppers, tomatoes, onions, lettuces, dozens of herbs for dinner: lamb chops and mashed potatoes, simple greens. Just beyond the scarecrow, her neighbors are making honey, boasting several large Warre harvest boxes, full of bees. Pearl’s garden is just beneath the hives, so you can imagine how her harvest fares.

Greens with red onion and cranberries, Caprese

After all these years, I discovered the thing I like best about Pearly’s salad: control. The way she plates a salad gives the grazer full control of what she wants and doesn’t want, and how she wants to dress it. I tend to use more lettuce than necessary in my salads. The good stuff always ends up at the bottom of the bowl. But Pearly places all the ingredients on a flat platter, including the lettuce. She lets you decide what you add to your plate and how you dress it. You’re the boss. Just greens and dressing? Great, have at it. Throw in some grilled bacon wrapped bananas, warm bread and cheese, and a gamut of marinated olives and gherkins, you’ve got yourself a Pearly lunch.

Let yourself feel lucky... and keep counting those blessings.

Just do it, don't ask questions

Pearly’s Malibu Salad #1

Ingredients:

• Nice handful arugula

• Small bunch of bitter greens

• Leaves of two mint stalks, chopped

• 6 oz sliced ham

• 6 oz sliced roasted turkey

• 2 plums, sliced

• 1 peach, sliced

• 6 oz sliced mozzarella cheese

• 2 large heirloom ttomatoes, sliced

• 1/2 red onion, chopped l

• eaves of two basil stalks, chopped

• 10 snap peas, chopped

• 1 stalk celery, chopped

• fresh warm crunchy bread

• 10 oz. jarlsberg cheese

• pickled onions

• tomato chutney

• olive oil

• white balsalmic vinegar

• salt and pepper

  Directions:

Layer the arugula, bitter greens and mint on a platter.

Roll ham and turkey, add to platter.

Place cut plums, peach, mozzarella, tomatoes and basil, red onion, peas, celery and carrots around the platter, creating a colorful array.

Serve sliced jarslburg with warm bread, chutney, onions... any salty addition you prefer.

Pile your favorites on a plate. Drizzle with oil and vinegar and season as you like.

Or don't. You're in control!

Pearly's Malibu Salads 1