1. Set up a breading station with three shallow dishes: Spread enough flour in a large shallow dish to cover it entirely. In a second dish, mix together the herbs, salt, pepper, and bread crumbs. Place the beaten eggs in the third.
2. Butterfly the chicken by trimming any cartilage or extra pieces off the breast meat. Lay the chicken breast on a work surface, with the thicker part of the breast facing the right (or facing left if you’re left-handed). Using a sharp knife, slice through the thickest part of the breast on the horizontal (like splitting a hamburger bun), but do not cut all the way through. When you open up the butterflied breast it should be heart-shaped. Repeat with the remaining chicken.
3. Spread a large piece of plastic wrap on the work surface. Drizzle 1/2 teaspoon of the olive oil over the plastic. Lay a butterflied breast on one half. Drizzle another 1/2 teaspoon olive oil on the top half of the plastic and fold it over the chicken so it is completely covered. With a mallet or a heavy-bottomed pot, pound out the breast, making sure to make contact only with the flat part of whatever you’re using until the chicken is 1/4 inch (6mm) thick. Once done, you can restructure/shape the pounded chicken back into a heart shape. Repeat with the rest of the breast pieces, replenishing the olive oil if needed. If the chicken peeks out of the plastic while pounding, just push it back in.
4. Set up two sheet pans each with a wire rack. Set one near the breading station and one near the stove.
5. Lightly dredge a cutlet in the flour, coating both sides. Dust off excess. Dip it in the eggs, coating both sides, and shaking off the excess. Finally, dip the cutlet in bread crumbs, making sure to press them into the cutlet so that it is well coated. Set on the rack in the sheet pan. Repeat with the remaining cutlets.
6. In a rondeau, combine the olive oil and butter and heat over high heat. Once the butter melts and stops foaming, reduce the heat to medium and carefully place one piece of chicken in the pan. Carefully swirl the pan. It should be actively bubbling but never smoking and the oil should never darken. Cook the cutlet for about 2 minutes. Flip carefully with tongs and cook the other side for about 2 minutes. Remove the fried cutlet with tongs and lay on the rack-lined sheet pan.
7. Repeat with the rest of the cutlets. If you notice the fat is low, add an additional 1/4 cup (60ml) of oil and 1 tablespoon of butter and bring it back up to temperature before continuing.
8. Season with a small pinch of salt and serve immediately with lemon wedges.

– From Dad, What’s For Dinner? © 2025 by David Nayfeld. Excerpted by permission of Alfred A. Knopf, a division of Penguin Random House LLC. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.