HUNGRY GERALD

Chicken breasts have often been maligned—when cooked they have a tendency to become dry and tasteless. When that happens, BSK shreds the chicken and uses it in Vietnamese Pho or combines the shredded chicken with avocado, chili and salsa for a sprightly taco filling. A method of using the breasts is to cut them in horizontal slices and pound them into a thin shape. What you then have is a “Paillard’. When gently browned and cooked it is served with a squeeze of lemon juice and a few lettuce leaves. This was the favorite dish of diet conscious, fashionable New York “Ladies who lunch.” Today’s New York women watch the calories but dine more amply. (There was a chic lunch spot in Manhattan called Mortimer’s that specialized in the austere paillards. It’s been long closed). BSK made a pleasant chicken breast dinner for supper at HG/BSK’s Central Falls, RI., loft. Sliced the breasts horizontally into slightly thick paillards and sauteed them in white wine, onions, lemon juice and garlic. BSK served them with a braised veggie and a pot of quinoa. It was delicious. Chicken was juicy and the lusty amount of capers and lemon juice made it twinkle.