Chicken Parmesan

The first week without Luc. The house is different. Not emptier exactly — Colette and Rémy are still here, and together they produce enough noise to fill any vacancy — but different. The chair at the dinner table. The room that doesn't have the closed door. The driveway without the Corolla. The small silences that were filled by Luc's quiet presence and are now filled by his quiet absence.

Luc called on Sunday. "Dad, I made the roux." The first thing he said. Not "classes are fine" or "the roommate is good." "Dad, I made the roux." In his dorm room. With the cast-iron skillet. Over a hot plate that is almost certainly against the rules and that I am almost certainly not going to tell him to stop using because the roux is more important than the rules. He stirred for thirty minutes. Blonde. "I'll get to dark," he said. "You will, cher," I said. "You will."

Made a pot of gumbo for four instead of five. The portion adjustment is the hardest part. You cook for five for seventeen years and the hands know five, the cups measure five, the pot expects five. And now it's four. The gumbo for four tasted the same but looked smaller in the pot, and the smaller is the absence, and the absence is the boy, and the boy is in Baton Rouge making a blonde roux on a contraband hot plate, and the blonde will become dark, and the dark will become the man, and the man will come home for Thanksgiving with stories and grades and the roux getting darker every Sunday.

I needed something that asked something of me — breading and pounding and the kind of focused, step-by-step cooking that keeps the hands busy and the mind just quiet enough. Chicken Parmesan is what I made the night after Luc called about the roux, because it’s the dinner that has always meant we’re okay in this house, and we are okay, all four of us, even if the chair still feels wrong. I scaled it down. Four breasts, four plates. The pan didn’t look full, but it tasted exactly right.

Prep Time: 20 min | Cook Time: 25 min | Total Time: 45 min | Servings: 4

Ingredients

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (about 6 oz each)
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
2 large eggs, beaten
3/4 cup Italian-seasoned breadcrumbs
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese, divided
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 cup marinara sauce
1 cup shredded whole-milk mozzarella cheese
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes (optional)
Fresh basil leaves, for serving

Instructions

Preheat and prep. Preheat your oven to 400°F. Line a rimmed baking sheet with a wire rack and set aside. Place each chicken breast between two sheets of plastic wrap and pound to an even 3/4-inch thickness using a meat mallet or rolling pin.
Season the chicken. Pat the chicken breasts dry with paper towels and season both sides evenly with salt and pepper.
Set up the breading station. Place the flour in one shallow dish, the beaten eggs in a second, and combine the breadcrumbs with 2 tablespoons of the Parmesan in a third. Dredge each breast in flour (shaking off the excess), dip in egg, then press firmly into the breadcrumb mixture to coat both sides.
Pan-sear the chicken. Heat the olive oil in a large oven-safe skillet over medium-high heat. Once shimmering, add the breaded chicken breasts in a single layer. Sear for 3—4 minutes per side until the crust is deep golden brown. Transfer to the prepared wire rack on the baking sheet.
Top and bake. Spoon 1/4 cup of marinara sauce over each breast. Divide the mozzarella evenly among the four pieces, then sprinkle the remaining 2 tablespoons of Parmesan over the top. Scatter red pepper flakes over if using.
Bake until cooked through. Transfer to the oven and bake for 15—18 minutes, until the cheese is bubbly and lightly browned and the internal temperature of the chicken reads 165°F on an instant-read thermometer.
Rest and serve. Let the chicken rest for 5 minutes before plating. Garnish with fresh basil and serve over pasta or alongside a simple green salad.

Nutrition (per serving)

Chicken Parmesan — Cooking for Four When Your Heart Still Measures Five