Sunday Supper: August
I love a dinner that looks and tastes a little special but doesn't require spending the entire day in the kitchen.
That's exactly what this Sunday Supper is.
Crispy Parmesan Chicken sits on top of creamy lemon pasta, with a simple green salad or charred broccoli alongside. And for dessert, a beautiful fruit tart with a gingersnap crust.
It's the kind of menu I like to serve to my family on a Sunday night - but it's also pretty enough to serve to friends.
And that's really the idea behind Sunday Supper.
Not just the recipes - but the whole plan.
Every meal in this series includes:
A complete menu
One easy shopping list
A make-ahead prep plan
Recipes I'm serving on a Sunday but that are approachable enough for a weeknight - and special enough for company
This week's dinner has another thing going for it: the fruit tart can be made almost entirely the day before. So when Sunday rolls around, you can concentrate on dinner and simply add the fruit to the tart before serving.
The Menu
Crispy Parmesan Chicken wiht Lemon Pasta
Crispy Parmesan-and-panko-coated chicken cutlets served over creamy, garlicky lemon Parmesan pasta.
Simple Green Salad
Keep this one simple—crisp greens tossed with your favorite light vinaigrette.
Optional: Add some charred broccoli right alongside the pasta and chicken. I certainly wouldn't object!
Fruit Tart with Gingersnap Crust
A crisp gingersnap crust filled with a light mascarpone cream and topped with beautiful fresh fruit.
This fruit tart is from my cookbook, Amy's Table: Food for Family and Friends.
Shopping list:
Produce:
1 head garlic
2 lemons
Fresh basil or parsley
Salad greens
Fresh fruit for tart—choose a combination of raspberries, strawberries, blueberries, kiwi, Mandarin oranges and/or red or green grapes
Broccoli, optional
Meat:
1½ pounds chicken breast cutlets
Refrigerated:
Butter
Mayonnaise
Heavy cream
Mascarpone cheese
Parmesan cheese
Pantry:
Panko breadcrumbs
Paprika
Garlic powder
Pennetine pasta
Chicken broth
Chicken bouillon, optional
Olive oil
Avocado oil spray
Gingersnap cookies
Sugar
Apricot preserves
Salt
Black pepper
Salad dressing ingredients or your favorite vinaigrette
A note about the Parmean:=
This is one of those times when it's worth buying a piece of Parmesan and grating it yourself.
You'll want it very finely grated for the pasta so it melts beautifully into the sauce.
You can use a slightly larger shred for the chicken, but I actually prefer finely grated Parmesan for both.
Saturday prep plan:
The beauty of this menu is that dessert can be nearly finished the day before.
1. Make the ginsgersnap crust
Heat oven to 350°F.
In a food processor, combine:
2 cups ground gingersnap cookies (about 38 cookies)
2 tablespoons sugar
Pulse into fine crumbs.
Add:
⅓ cup melted butter
Pulse until moist clumps form.
Press into the bottom and up the sides of a 10-inch removable-bottom tart pan.
Bake about 8 minutes, watching carefully toward the end.
Cool completely.
2, Make the Mascarpone filling
Beat together:
1 cup mascarpone cheese, room temperature
¼ cup sugar
2 teaspoons lemon juice
When well blended, add:
½ cup heavy cream
Beat on high until light and fluffy.
Spread into the cooled tart shell.
Refrigerate overnight.
Don't add the fruit yet. The tart can be made up to 24 hours ahead, but the fruit and glaze are best added no more than a couple of hours before serving.
3.Prep the chicken breeading
Combine:
¾ cup grated Parmesan
1½ cups panko breadcrumbs
1 teaspoon paprika
½ teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon salt
Cover and set aside for Sunday.
4. Prep pasta and broccoli
Grate the Parmesan for the pasta, mince the garlic and wash your salad greens.
If you're serving broccoli, wash and cut it into florets.
Sunday
A few hours before dinner
Finish the fruit tart.
Arrange your fruit over the chilled mascarpone filling.
Melt and strain:
¼ cup apricot preserves
Using a small, soft pastry brush, gently brush the preserves over the fruit.
Return the tart to the refrigerator until dessert.
45 minutes before dinner
Heat oven to 425°F.
Line a baking sheet with parchment.
Pat the chicken cutlets dry and season both sides with salt and pepper.
Brush each side lightly with mayonnaise.
Press each piece into the Parmesan-panko mixture, coating both sides evenly.
Arrange on the prepared baking sheet.
Lightly spray the tops with avocado oil spray.
30 minutes before dinner
Put the chicken into the oven.
Bake for 15 minutes.
Then turn on the broiler and broil for another 1–2 minutes until beautifully crisp and golden.
There's no need to flip the chicken.
Remove from the oven and let it rest before slicing.
While the chicken cooks
Start the lemon pasta.
Melt in a large pan over medium heat:
3 tablespoons butter
A drizzle of olive oil
Add:
3–4 minced garlic cloves
Sauté for about 30 seconds, just until fragrant.
Add:
8 ounces dry pennetine pasta
Stir to coat.
Add:
2 cups chicken broth
1 cup heavy cream
I like to add 2–3 teaspoons of chicken bouillon to the broth for a little extra flavor, but that's optional.
Stir well, making sure the pasta is submerged.
Simmer, stirring occasionally, until the pasta is tender and the sauce has thickened. Add additional chicken broth as needed.
Just before serving
Stir into the pasta:
Juice of ½ lemon
1 cup finely grated Parmesan
Stir until smooth and creamy.
Finish with plenty of freshly ground black pepper.
Toss your green salad.
If you're serving charred broccoli, have it ready to go.
Bring it all together
This dinner is all about timing, but don't let that intimidate you.
Get everything prepped first. Put the chicken in the oven and then turn your attention to the pasta.
If the chicken is ready before the pasta, that's perfectly fine. Letting it rest for a few minutes before slicing is a good thing anyway.
I like to serve this dinner in low pasta bowls.
Spoon the creamy lemon pasta into each bowl—and don't leave any of that sauce behind.
Slice a chicken cutlet into strips and use your knife to transfer the entire sliced cutlet neatly over the pasta.
Finish with a chiffonade of basil or chopped parsley and a lemon wedge.
If you're serving charred broccoli, tuck it right alongside the chicken and pasta.
Serve the simple green salad separately.
Then bring that gorgeous fruit tart to the table for dessert.
