One of the simplest, purest pleasures I've experienced during my 32 years of life is going out for Italian-American food with my family. There is such a deep, rich nostalgia and comfort that permeates those spaces for me. I almost always opt for my favorite, which is (you guessed it) chicken parmesan. My mother will undoubtedly get some sort of shrimp dish with lemon, while my brother might get penne with vodka sauce.

Then there's my father, who — without fail — will order "chicken oreganata." You'll typically see "clams oreganata" on the menu as an appetizer featuring lightly breaded, chopped clams spiced with oregano and garlic. My father apparently decided to merge an Italian-American chicken with a clam appetizer and voila — a new Italian-American chicken classic was born. Wow, is it good.