Chicken breast over salad greens: pan-seared or breaded?

Southwestern Pan-Seared Chicken Cutlet

chicken breast, sliced in half horizontally

1 recipe Emeril's Creole Seasoning (called Essence)

Sprinkle both sides of the chicken cutlet with salt, freshly ground pepper and Essence. Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a skillet (preferably cast-iron) over medium-high heat until just smoking. Cook the chicken for a minute or so until nicely colored and then flip the chicken and then cook on the other side until the cutlet is fully cooked. The cooking process should not take long since the cutlets are thin. Slice and place over salad greens. Make a few extra cutlets for a quick meal in the future.

*I omit the salt when I make Essence so I can have more control over how much salt I add later on when it comes time to cook the chicken. I always have a jar of homemade Essence in my cupboard. I sprinkle it on fish, quesadillas, and nachos.

Breaded Chicken Cutlet with Fresh Basil

chicken breast, sliced in half horizontally

flour

eggs, beaten (about 1 per every two chicken breasts/ 4 cutlets)

breadcrumbs

fresh basil, minced

Sprinkle both sides of the chicken cutlets with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Place the flour, eggs, and breadcrumbs/basil each in a separate shallow bowl. Dust the cutlets with flour and let the excess fall off. Dip the cutlets into the egg and then cover them with breadcrumbs. Spray each breaded with a coating of olive oil. Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a skillet over medium heat until smoking. Add the cutlets and cook on one side until golden in color. Flip the cutlets and continue cooking them until golden on the other side. You can finish the cooking on the stovetop or transfer the cutlets to a 350 degree oven for 3 minutes or so (it won't take long since the cutlets are thin). Slice the cutlets, place them on salad greens and serve with lemon wedges.

*If you have grated parmesan on hand you can add it to the breadcrumbs. I also added Penzey's Tuscan Sunset blend (such good stuff!) of Italian herbs to the breadcrumbs.