Chicken Paillards with Tomato, Basil, and Roasted-Corn Relish

Hi friends, happy Friday! Psyched about the weekend as usual!  Instead of Friday Favorites, I'm sharing my Bon Appétit's August 2005 recipe with you that I made Wednesday night for dinner.  I actually feel like the recipe is mine because I've had it for so long.  Too bad I can't truly claim it.  Shucks.  Anywho, it's lower in calories and healthy and delish.  Some substitutions can be made to make it even healthier as well if you're on the diet bandwagon.  So tweak away as you see fit.  My suggestions: Use panko or a mixture of panko and flour for the breading {even though it's lightly breaded anyway, every little bit counts, right?}, cut the serving size in half if you're into portion control, and nix serving an additional side dish...the tomato and corn relish is quite the substantial accompaniment in and of itself.  Well, let me rephrase that last suggestion.  Super hungry husbands, boyfriends, etc. are apt to need a small extra side dish...so mainly I'm speakin to the ladies here. : )

Hope you enjoy this one!  Next week, I'll be whipping up a few dishes from Gwynie's {Gwyneth Paltrow's} book My Father's Daughter to share with you.  And by the way, tisk, tisk on the New York Times for their recent article.  If you read her book and watch her in action cooking on tv shows and on goop.com, it's clear she has no ghostwriter. Sheesh.  Nobody puts Gwynie in the corner.  So step off Times!

Additionally, my plan {weather permitting of course} is to make a dish of her's and pack a picnic and take my husband on a date by the river this weekend.  Hopefully, there will be no proverbial rain on our parade. I'm either thinking I'll go with her Classic Chopped Salad and her Turkey BLT or the Crab Cake Burgers with Spicy Remoulade with a side of fruit. They both sound quite marvelous.

Let's begin on this chicken recipe shall we? Full recipe found {here}.  I took note of some of the reviews and squeezed some lemon on and also peppered up the chicken prior to the breading.  I even added a few dashes of poultry seasoning to the panko and flour mixture for extra flavor.

Chicken with Tomato, Basil, and Roasted-Corn Relish
{Yields 4 Servings}

Ingredients:

Relish

• 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided
• 1 1/2 cups fresh corn kernels {truth time: I used two whole kernal corn cans}
• 12 ounces cherry tomatoes, halved
• 1/4 cup chopped green onions
• 3 tablespoons finely sliced fresh basil

Chicken

• 4 large skinless boneless chicken breast halves, tenderloins removed
• All purpose flour {I use panko and flour}
• 1 1/2 tablespoons unsalted butter {oooops, I used salted}
• 1 1/2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

Prep and Directions:

*Preheat oven to 375 and brush baking sheet with olive oil.
*Get everything on the counter in one space in front of you for easy access.
*Put skillet on stove with melted butter and oil on low until your ready to cook the chicken.
*Complete all prep work: chop green onions, halve the tomatoes, slice the basil, get a plate ready for the flour/panko mixture, pound the chicken {see next *}. Or wait a bit for this part like I did.
*If you are terrified of yucky, germy, disgusto, raw chicken juices, brace yourself.  I despise this part{Dylan thinks I'm a huge germaphobe in general} but I participate in this part of the recipe anyway for this particular dish.  I so totally wanted to wear gloves but didn't have any so I washed my hands with anti-bacterial soap 15 times during the process courageously took on the challenge.

Relish ingredients chopped and ready. 
NOTE: The basil is fresh 
from our garden! Pat on back!  : )

Spread corn out after drizzling a tad more olive oil.  Pop into oven.

Rest of the relish goes into a bowl while corn roasts.

I added a dash of white wine vinegar and fresh ground pepper.

Panko and Flour mixture with added paprika and poultry seasoning.

 *No picture available for the pounding of the chicken.  No way I was letting gross raw chicken juices near my camera.  No thank you salmonella.  So instead, I'll explain in words.  After you wash the chicken and pat dry, salt and pepper it and stick into a gallon size zip lock bag.  Squeeze the juice of a lemon into the bag with the chicken.  Close the bag {not gonna lie, husband assisted with this entire daunting task} and then place bag on your counter and beat the living daylights out of the chicken firmly pound down with a mallet, rolling pin, or botton of a sauce pan.  After this, wash your hands!  In my case, rewash and rewash my hands again and again.  Hmmm, I do sound quite the germaphobe! ; ) Whatevs.

*Get each piece of chicken out and dredge in the panko/flour mixture.  Into skillet with melted butter and oil and cook away! Again no photo available for this.  Let's wait until the final product shall we?

At this juncture, take the corn out {after about 15 mins of roasting} and add the rest of the relish. 
The recipe does not call for this but I think the flavors blend so nicely
especially with the tomatoes roasting as well.  Back into the oven for another 10-12 mins.

*Cook the chicken about 5 mins per side in the skillet.  Plate the chicken after it has cooked and rested for about 5 mins.  Spoon relish over top and dig in! It's scrumptious!