This is one of MY favorite recipes. It is a Giada De Laurentiis recipe that I have been making for a few years now. I find that it is very kid-friendly too since Alston loves it. I just love the whole concept of dipping the tenders into a vinegarette instead of ketchup or something like that. I have tossed this, along with the vinegarette, with hot pasta or sliced the tenders up and put them in a salad. One thing I have learned is that organic chicken doesn't cook the same for some reason. The bread crumbs and parmesan don't stick as well, for lack of a better way to put it. I love the fact that this recipe calls for marinating the tenders in buttermilk. I think it is key. Using fresh Parmgiano-Reggiano is also very important. And I haven't tried this with whole wheat bread crumbs yet, but I'm thinking it would be fine. All you would have to do is toss in some dried parsley to make them "Italian style". When I serve this for Jeff and I, I put the vinegarette in two separate little ramekins so we will each have our own dipping dish. And honestly, Jeff is so tired of this recipe so I don't make it as often as I would like! If I had my choice, I would make this once a week. I do have a hard time making the garlic and salt into a paste sometimes, but I find it still tastes good. Oh, and I do buy one pack of the tenders and still use the full cup of buttermilk and all of the bread crumbs and parmesan. Any side dish works with this - pasta, rice, salad, you name it!

Crunchy Parmesan Chicken Tenders - Giada De Laurentiis

Ingredients
4 tablespoons plus 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 cup buttermilk
1 1/2 pounds chicken tenders (about 18)
3 large garlic cloves, minced
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
Freshly ground black pepper
1 1/4 cups freshly grated Parmesan
3/4 cup Italian-style seasoned bread crumbs
Directions
Preheat the oven to 500 degrees F.
Brush 1 tablespoon of oil over each of 2 heavy large lined baking sheets. Place the buttermilk in a large bowl. Add the chicken tenders and stir to coat. Let stand at least 15 minutes and up to 30 minutes.
Meanwhile, mash the garlic with the salt in a medium bowl. Whisk in the vinegar and then the remaining 1/2 cup of oil. Season the vinaigrette, to taste, with pepper. Transfer the vinaigrette to a small serving bowl.
Stir the Parmesan and bread crumbs in a pie dish. Remove the chicken tenders from the buttermilk and dredge them in the bread crumb mixture to coat completely, pressing to adhere. Arrange the coated chicken tenders on the prepared baking sheets, spacing evenly. Drizzle the remaining 2 tablespoons of oil over the chicken tenders and bake until they are cooked through and golden brown, about 12 minutes.
Transfer the chicken tenders to a platter and serve the vinaigrette alongside for dipping.