Crispy Chicken Costoletta

When Kenny and I went to Hawaii 4 years ago we got this amazing lemon chicken at cheesecake factory. We have gone there a few times since and always looked for it on the menu and couldn't find it...well, last month while we were in Scottsdale we were at cheesecake factory and found it again and it was delicious! So I found the copy cat recipe and made it tonight. It turned out just as good as cheesecake factories!...ok, well almost. 

I used half and half instead of cream to cut down the fat and it worked great. I also think next time I'll bake it instead of fry it. You need to continually add more oil/butter to the pan to cook it good on the stove. 

Ingredients

The Chicken

• 4 chicken breasts, cut horizontally, and pounded to about 1/4 inch thick or 4 chicken cutlets
• 2 lemons, zest of
• 1 1/2 cups plain breadcrumbs
• 2 tablespoons freshly grated parmesan cheese (optional)
• 2 eggs, whisked with
• 2 tablespoons water
• 3 tablespoons flour
• 1 teaspoon ground pepper
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt

Lemon Sauce

• 2 garlic cloves, finely minced
• 1 tablespoon canola oil
• 2 cups heavy whipping cream
• 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
• 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice, plus
• 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
• 1/8 cup chicken stock
• kosher salt
• fresh ground pepper
• 1 tablespoon unsalted butter

Directions

1. For the chicken:.
2. Preheat oven to 200°F.
3. Zest two lemons. Bake zest for about 5 minutes until dry.

4. In one bowl combine flour, pepper and salt. In another bowl combine eggs and water, whisk until combined. In another bowl combine dry lemon zest, bread crumbs and cheese.
5. Place pounded chicken in the flour, coating well, followed by the egg mixture and the bread crumbs.
6. Heat 2 Tablespoons olive oil and 1 Tablespoon butter in a large frying pan over medium heat.
7. Place chicken in pan and cook on each side about 5 minutes until middle is no longer pink. You will need to work in batches, adding more oil and butter as needed.
8. Keep chicken warm in oven at 250°F.
9. For the lemon sauce:.
10. Over medium heat in a fairly large saucepan heat canola oil. Add minced garlic and sauté about 3 minutes.
11. Add whipping cream and boil until reduced by one-third.
12. Add Dijon, lemon juice, chicken stock and salt and pepper to taste. Simmer about 5 minutes.
13. Remove from heat and stir in butter until melted.
14. Serve chicken with lemon sauce and mashed garlic potatoes.