Pancetta Green Beans and A Chicken Dish

I made the Pancetta Green Beans with the Chicken with Mustard Sauce on Wednesday.  Now I know that this doesn't look like it has Pancetta in it, and it doesn't.  I don't know why I had it in my head that Pancetta and Prosciutto were the same thing, I know they aren't.  Chalk it up to the fact that I had a long day at work and was in a hurry to get home.  I think I saw the prosciutto and just grabbed and go.

This was a great side dish.  I'm not a big green bean eater.  I don't hate green beans, but they aren't a go to vegetable for me.  I grew up near my grandfather's farm and they always grew green beans.  I don't remember eating fresh green beans when I was little, but I remember my mother and grandmother spending entire days in the kitchen canning green beans.  I think that's why I don't eat fresh green beans, whenever I think of those vegetables, I think of green beans in a can and not fresh ones.

I will have to make this side dish again.  It is incredibly easy to make, and who doesn't love anything cooked in bacon and butter?  I made this dish as a part of French Fridays with Dorie.  It's an online cooking club that is cooking through Dorie Greenspan's Around My French Table.  There is a selected recipe each week, and each person posts her dish on Fridays.  Part of the rules state that you cannot post the recipe, so it you to try anything you see, go buy the book!  It's a great cookbook and I highly recommend it.  I didn't post this link to the website (I'm about 3 days late), but I hope to begin soon.  I like the idea of the website.  I've always thought it would interesting to do a cook-through blog, but I don't think I can commit to just one cookbook everything night for many years.  This way I have the best of both worlds.

Now here's my next dish - I made this last night for dinner.  It's from Bon Appetit's Fast Easy Fresh cookbook.  It's a pretty easy chicken dish to make, and it doesn't take a long time to cook, around 30 minutes to make.  You coat the chicken with panko bread crumbs and then saute it in olive oil.  I like that way of cooking chicken breasts, it dresses them up from the bland, plain chicken dish.  But I have a problem if I need to cook the chicken in batches, like I had to do with this dish.  The first 2 pieces of chicken came out perfectly, but with the next 2, the breadcrumbs start to burn.  If anyone knows how to fix that, please let me know.  I don't have a picture of this dish.

Lemony Chicken Milanese with Arugula Salad
from Bon Appetit's Fast Easy Fresh
Serves 4

4 skinless boneless chicken breast halves
2 large eggs
1 1/4 cups panko
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
2 teaspoons chopped fresh oregano
1 teaspoon coarse kosher salt
3/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

4 tablespoons olive oil, divided
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
2 cups (packed) baby arugula leaves (about 2 ounces)

Using meat mallet or rolling pin, pound chicken between sheets of plastic wrap to 1/2-inch thickness.  Whisk eggs in medium bowl to blend.  Mix panko, parsley, oregano, salt, and pepper on plate.  Dip chicken into beaten eggs; turn to coat.  Dredge in breadcrumb mixture, coating completely.

Heat 3 tablespoons oil in large nonstick skillet over medium heat.  Add chicken and saute until golden brown and cooked through, about 5 minutes per side.  Transfer chicken to plates; sprinkle with lemon juice.  Toss arugula with remaining 1 tablespoon oil in medium bowl to coat; sprinkle with salt and pepper.  Mound salad atop chicken.