I usually have a couple of those green containers of “sprinkle cheese”, as my little one calls it, in the refrigerator.  Of course, that’s not what I like to use in recipes that call for Parmesan cheese, so I usually have some whole blocks to grate up, too.  In other words, I have a lot of Parmesan cheese in the house.

Like I said, normally I like to use the fresh grated style in my casseroles like Eggplant Parmesan.  The “sprinkle cheese” variety is good for topping spaghetti noodles, and my family actually prefers that to fresh grated on spaghetti.  What happens is that we end up with quite a supply of the containers of the sprinkle variety and don’t really eat spaghetti that often. 

I do have one other use for the sprinkle variety, and that is in a coating.  Because it has a rather dry texture, it works well and doesn’t seem to get melty… it just flavors.  I mix about half Parmesan cheese (the container stuff, not fresh grated) with half cornmeal for a coating for chicken pieces.  This makes a wonderfully cheesy oven-baked chicken dish. 

You could do the old “dry wet dry” coating, too.  Lay out cornmeal in one pan, egg and milk mixture in another, and Parmesan cheese in a third pan.  Dip your chicken pieces one by one first in the cornmeal, then egg/milk mixture, and finally in the Parmesan cheese.  Then put on a baking sheet and oven bake at about 400 degrees for 35 to 45 minutes, depending on the size and type of chicken pieces, or until done.  This turns out nice and crispy and juicy, too.

Other than using Parmesan cheese as a coating, has anyone tried cooking with the sprinkle variety?  I’d love to hear from you!