Parmesan Crusted Chicken from JABC Christmas Banquet

I got lots of recipe requests for this chicken after the banquet.  Though I think my helpers questioned whether this chicken was worth all of the steps to prep it, I think it was!

PARMESAN CRUSTED CHICKEN BREAST

2 cups chicken broth
1 teaspoon salt
4 large boneless skinless chicken breast fillets (Sam's Club has great prices on chicken breasts)
4 eggs
1/2 cup flour
1 cup Panko bread crumbs (usually found in the Asian food section of your store--they're Japanese bread crumbs)
1 cup shredded Parmesan cheese (note:  I used shredded Parmesan, not the grated powdery stuff)
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp ground black pepper

NOTE:  If you cut your chicken breasts into two or three sections, you may find that you need more Panko and Parmesan than stated in the recipe--more surface area to cover!

Lemon Chardonnay Butter Sauce

1/4 cup salted butter
1/4 cup chardonnay wine (I substituted chicken broth)
2 T lemon juice
3/4 tsp. sugar
1 1/2 cups heavy cream

GARNISH:  chopped sundried tomatoes, fresh basil and shredded Parmesan

Make a brine for your chicken by dissolving the salt in the chicken broth in a bowl.  Cover the chicken breasts with plastic wrap and pound each one to about 1/2 inch thick with the flat side of a kitchen mallet.  After they were flattened, I cut each breast in half.  Add flattened chicken to the brine; cover and chill for two to three hours.

When chicken has marinated, remove the fillets from the brine and dab with paper towels to remove excess liquid.  Beat eggs in a medium bowl and pour flour onto a plate.  Combine panko bread crumbs, Parmesan, salt and pepper in another bowl.  To bread the chicken, first coat each fillet with flour, then egg, and then the Parmesan mixture.  Let the breaded fillets rest for a bit on a plate in your fridge while you prep the butter sauce.

Make the butter sauce by melting the butter in a small saucepan over medium heat.  Add wine/broth and simmer for 1 minute.  Stir in lemon juice, sugar and salt, and then add cream.  Simmer over low heat for 10 to 12 minutes, until thicker.

Add enough oil to cover the bottom of a large saute pan, and heat over medium/low until hot.  You can check the heat of the oil by dropping a bread crumb into it.  If it starts to sizzle, your oil is ready.  Saute each breaded chicken fillet in the oil for four to five minutes per side, until brown.  Remove the fillets to a paper towel-covered  plate until ready to serve (if you're making 200 pieces, like we were, you can hold them in the oven until you get the rest cooked).  Serve each fillet with a couple of tablespoons of butter sauce spooned over the top.  Pile a tablespoon of Parmesan on each fillet, followed by a heaping teaspoon of minced sun-dried tomatoes and some chopped basil.