COOKING WITH FRIENDS

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“A recipe has no soul. You, as the cook, must bring the soul to the recipe.” Thomas Keller

Hi there,

Today I am going to share a recipe for chicken cutlets but these aren’t just any cutlets. These are the famous “Mrs. Scotti’s Chicken Cutlets” that are probably still being talked about with reverence in the small town of Haddonfield.

This recipe originated with my friend, Rosalie. Rosalie is the ultimate Italian Momma. She will love you fiercely. Let you know in no uncertain terms when you are doing something pazzesco (crazy, mad, foolish, absurd in Italian). And shows her love for you by feeding you until you beg for mercy fearing that you will burst and fly crazily around the room like a balloon leaking helium.

Rosalie became famous for her chicken cutlets by feeding all the teenage boys who came to her house these jump in your mouth delicious cutlets. I became sick of having my sons beg me to make “Mrs. Scotti’s Cutlets” so I swallowed my pride and asked for the recipe. She generously shared it with me about 25 years ago and until this day I still tell my sons “I am making Mrs. Scotti’s cutlets for dinner”.

MRS. SCOTTI’S CHICKEN CUTLETS

Ingredients:

  • 1 lb of thin sliced chicken cutlets
  • 2 eggs scrambled
  • 1/4 cup of Wondra
  • 1/2 cup Italian Seasoned breadcrumbs
  • 1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
  • 1 large lemon
  • EVOO

Directions:

  1. Dry the chicken cutlets with a paper towel
  2. Scramble the eggs
  3. Mix the breadcrumbs and the cheese together
  4. Cover the cutlet lightly with Wondra
  5. Dip into the eggs
  6. Cover the cutlet thoroughly with the breadcrumb mixture
  7. Let rest in the refrigerator for about an hour
  8. Heat your air fryer to 425
  9. Thoroughly spray the cutlet with EVOO on both sides
  10. Put in the air fryer until browned and cooked through, about 10 minutes
  11. Cut lemon in half and squeeze half of the lemon over the cutlets and cut the remaining half in pieces to serve with the cutlets

Special Note: I have recreated Rosalie’s recipe from memory. Hopefully it is very close to the original. This recipe can easily be doubled or tripled. My family usually eats about 1/2 lb a piece. Rosalie used to travel to South Philadelphia for her cutlets but I like Bell and Evans. If you don’t have an air fryer just cook them on your stove top frying pan with olive oil. Enjoy!

Talk soon, ❤️💕 Bernadette

21 responses to “COOKING WITH FRIENDS”

  1. Chef Mimi – As a self-taught home cook, with many years in the culinary profession, I am passionate about all things food-related. Especially eating!
    chef mimi says:

    Oh, I bet these are good! As I get older I have more appreciation for breaded stuff, like chicken and pork chops. I don’t know why I had an aversion to them before! Maybe because I had too many that were overcooked.

  2. Chen Song Ping @ TPTan – Chen S.P. enjoys pottery works, cartoons, painting and poems. She shares insightful experiences about being a carer for people with mental illness and cancer.
    Chen Song Ping @ TPTan says:

    Bernadette, what is Wondra? Will I be able to bring the soul into my chicken cutlets! 😓

    • Wondra is a very finely sifted flour. You can get the same result by sifting your flour if the product isn’t available I your area. My other suggestions would be to dry the cutlets very well and double dip them in the breadcrumbs.

      • Chen Song Ping @ TPTan – Chen S.P. enjoys pottery works, cartoons, painting and poems. She shares insightful experiences about being a carer for people with mental illness and cancer.
        Chen Song Ping @ TPTan says:

        Ah, 👌 TQ, Bernadette!

  3. ajeanneinthekitchen – I have worked in the restaurant and catering industry for over 35 years. I attended 2 culinary schools in Southern California, and have a degree in culinary arts from the Southern California School of Culinary Arts, as well as a few other degrees in other areas. I love to cook and I love to feed people.
    ajeanneinthekitchen says:

    Those look so good!!!!!

      • ajeanneinthekitchen – I have worked in the restaurant and catering industry for over 35 years. I attended 2 culinary schools in Southern California, and have a degree in culinary arts from the Southern California School of Culinary Arts, as well as a few other degrees in other areas. I love to cook and I love to feed people.
        ajeanneinthekitchen says:

        I bet. YUM! 🙂

  4. Dorothy's New Vintage Kitchen – I'm a writer, cook, gardener, photographer, poet, quilter, and accomplished daydreamer. I'm also a wife, mother, grandmother, sister. cousin, aunt, and friend, no particular order on any given day. I've been a writer all my life, newspaper reporter and columnist, radio news writer, and magazine contributor, and poet and short-story writer as the spirit moves. Now, I turn my attention to my cookbook, the blog, and a cooking column "Memorable Meals," which runs in our county newspaper. Besides my family, I love dogs, cats, good coffee, chocolate, and my never-dwindling pile of books I intend to read. Our family ran a small Vermont Inn for 18 years, with our focus on local, organic ingredients. I cook from scratch, and try not to use anything that has ingredients I cannot pronounce! After many years of daily serving up local delicacies, cooking classes, and catering, we are now only open for special events, and the odd cooking class. We also host musicians and artists, having helped produce a musical festival and other musical events for nearly 20 years. Many incredible artists have found a place at our table. Wonderful experiences, we will treasure always. My family and friends are my practice subjects. With a family that includes nut, peanut, tree fruit, and vegetable allergies, gluten intolerance, dairy intolerance, vegetarians, vegans, heart conscious, and a couple of picky eaters, there has to be a few quick tricks in the book to keep everyone fed and happy! Personally, I do not eat red meat or most full-fat dairy (usually) for health reasons, making the occasional exception at Thanksgiving and Christmas or our anniversary if the duck is locally raised. I do eat fish and seafood, so I try to come up with alternatives and substitutions when available. I serve local organic eggs and cheeses to my family who can tolerate dairy (My husband recently had a heart attack, and I need to watch my own cholesterol so I am careful, but have been known to let a little piece of really good cheese accidentally fall on my plate!). I believe strongly that eating in a way that is good for our planet is also good for our bodies, and I try to educated myself about our food sources! I cook by the seasons and draw on inspiration from the strong and talented women in my family who came before me, as well as the youth in the family who look at the world with fresh eyes. Food links us all, whether sharing a meal, cooking it together, or writing about it for others to enjoy. I love taking an old recipe and giving it a modern spin, especially if I can make it a littler healthier and use foods that are kinder to the Earth and to our bodies. I believe strongly in sustainable, delicious eating of whole foods, and the wonderful flavors we have at our fingertips! And finally, I love conversing with all the talented cooks and chefs out there who dot the globe! It's a wonderful, world full of culinary pen pals, and I cherish them all! XXXOOO Dorothy
    Dorothy’s New Vintage Kitchen says:

    Thank you for sharing, I can see why it is a treasured favorite. My mom always had a little round container of Wondra on the shelf, and I follow her lead. It’s perfect in breading, or lightly dusting fish for a quick sear. Mom often used it to thicken her gravies as well.

  5. OK, that’s it. I’m going to get an air fryer, Bernadette. I can’t believe how perfect and crispy those cutlets look. You’ve talked me into it! And I love having friends to share recipes with. 🙂 <3

  6. Aw, thank you Bernadette. Masterpieces or not, it would be great to have crispy “fried” foods without so much fat. All this pandemic cooking has been a bit much, you know what I mean? Haha!

  7. the Painted Apron – Life is all about creativity for me, as long as I'm creating something I am happy! I hope I will inspire your daily life and give you ideas for your own wonderful creations!
    the Painted Apron says:

    What a great recipe and wonderful story! I got an air fryer for Christmas a couple of years ago, but after a month of trying various things, I returned it because I wasn’t happy with any of the recipes I made with it…maybe I should try again, perhaps they’re improved now?
    Jenna

  8. Bernadette, your culinary photos are divine! Thank you for the follow. I am so excited to follow (and try) your recipes🧡

  9. da-AL – Happiness Between Tails blog/podcast speaks to and from the heart. It connects lovers — of pets, authors, reading — and of my still-unreleased novels. “Flamenco + the Sitting Cat” and “Tango + the Sitting Cat,” are my love letters to all who fear they're too odd, too damaged, too old, too whatever to find love and happiness with or without a partner. HappinessBetweenTails.com • ContactdaAL@gmail.com • BuyMeACoffee.com/SupportHBT
    da-AL says:

    what a lovely blog 🙂

  10. Time Traveler of Life – Where my Motor Home is! – Biography Creating worlds, characters, and wielding power like a madwoman, making my characters happy, sad, angry, and some of them with no redeeming qualities. I probably shouldn’t admit this, but I sometimes laugh out loud when I am writing a scene, and I have been known to cry when one of my favorites has to die. I am a left-handed Gemini, what do you expect? Reading bedtime stories to my two children until they fell asleep or until they just told me to go away, was fun. Making up wild stories for my grandchild, and creating Halloween costumes from Cowboys to a Dragon, was another favorite thing to do. I missed that so much when they were grown, that I started writing. My yearly newsletters frequently were drafted third-person by my Love Birds, Miranda our motorhome, and by Sir Fit the White Knight, our faithful Honda. Throughout the years, some of my creative talents centered around writing letters of complaint expressing my displeasure with services or products. One crucial, at least to my Son, was a note to our local school bus driver petitioning her to allow him back on the bus. He was kicked off for making an obscene gesture at his buddy. I reminded her that it was not directed at her, and that “obscenity can be in the eye of the beholder,” kids use that gesture as a greeting. He rode the bus until he graduated. I loved driving my English teacher crazy. Leaving a “continued next week” at the end of my five handwritten pages required each week. He was one of many people that suggested I “do something about my writing.” I graduated from the School of Hard Knocks at the top of my class. After 30 years, in the trenches as a Real Estate Professional, I have found that truth is stranger than fiction. My books are filled with characters I met in that profession. Their names were changed to protect the guilty. Others were from people we met traveling around the country in Miranda, our Motorhome. I am married nearly 60 years to the love of my life, Shirl, and partner-produced two exceptionally talented children, and one grandchild who is our pride and joy.
    Time Traveler of Life says:

    What is Wonda and EVOO? Obviously we are from different areas so I am in the dark. LOL Help out a poor Mainiac transplanted to Arizona!

    • You are too funny. Wondra is presented very fine flour. You could substitute any cake flour. EVOO is extra virgin olive oil. Thanks for taking the time to stop by.

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