New Old-Fashioned Cornflake Crumb Chicken Tenders

I needed cornflake crumbs for a dish a while back and have been rediscovering uses for it since. It is a memory from my childhood. My mother did not use cornmeal, but just like most New York Jewish mothers, her breading of choice was cornflake crumbs. So to me, these chicken tenders, remind me of my mother’s chicken cutlets – with a few important differences…

She fried; I bake (although these would be good pan fried as well)
She added onion powder and garlic powder, and maybe some pepper; I add salt, pepper and cayenne.
She used whole breasts; I prefer tenders (ok, that’s not a big difference, but I said a few, so I needed a third)

Don’t get me wrong, I like panko, I like my ‘fake’ chik-fil-a version and various other approaches to making chicken tenders for my son. But there is something quite heartwarming about making a dish that makes me feel like my mother. I can actually ‘feel’ what it was like to sit at the table and watch her bread then fry the chicken using her electric fryer. I had a happy childhood, tonight I am celebrating that.

New Old-Fashioned Cornflake Crumb Chicken Tenders

1 1/2 cups cornflake crumbs

1 tsp salt

1/4 tsp pepper

1/8-1/4 tsp ground cayenne (careful, this gives it a great kick!)

1 egg, beated (from Farmer Kim)

1 Tbs water

4 chicken breast cutlets, cut into strips

Preheat the oven to 375F. Combine the cornflake crumbs, salt, pepper and cayenne in a shallow dish. In another shallow dish, beat the egg with the water.