Chicken Kiev Dinner

We had some friends over for Friday night dinner. Chicken Kiev was the star of the evening.

J complained that there wasn't enough butter in the middle. Next time, THREE tablespoons! We also had pesto buttermilk squashed potatoes and broccoli and mushrooms that I tossed with olive oil and the pulp of roasted garlic .

Chicken Kiev is reasonably easy. First, the compound butter. You must have compound butter! What you put in the butter is up to you, but there should be salt, pepper, and chives. I also added shallots, rosemary, and thyme. The more herbs you can mix into some softened butter the better. Then refrigerate at least overnight and cut into chunks of two tablespoons' worth each.

A few hours before you want dinner, pound some chicken breasts flat. Here's a visual of how big each piece can get--no thinner than an eighth of an inch thick, please. I found that instead of pounding between two pieces if plastic wrap, it's easier to stick the chicken in one of those plastic bags you get in the produce section. I also don't own a meat mallet, so I pound the meat with my French rolling pin (which is really just a big tapered stick).

Season all the flattened chicken on both sides. Anything goes here: salt, pepper, herbs. Just make sure the flavors complement what you have going on inside the butter. Roll two tablespoons of butter and a tablespoon of panko bread crumbs into the center of each piece of chicken. Roll tightly! Put the chicken rolls into a container so they're packed pretty close together, and put in the fridge for a few hours. This gives the chicken time to kind of take shape.

When ready to cook, dust the rolls in flour, dredge in some beaten eggs, and coat in panko bread crumbs. Fry in half an inch of oil over medium heat. It should take five minutes for each side to become golden. Any faster and you'll have a raw center. Let it cool a few minutes before you cut into it.

We had panna cotta with mountains of berries for dessert. I think that was the real winner of the evening!