Goodness On A Plate

Chicken Piccata

Sometimes I cook like I know what I'm doing. (As opposed to doing the quickest, easiest thing possible.) Last night was one of those nights. I didn't get home until later than planned, but I decided that cooking was the still better choice for us. Our dining-out choices around here are slim.

I had a package of chicken breasts that I needed to use. And a couple of days ago, a terrific sounding recipe appeared on Facebook from Plain Chicken. Chicken Piccata was not what I was planning when I bought the chicken, but this sounded so good—and I had all the other ingredients—that I changed my plan.

Plain Chicken said it was "restaurant quality." Well, it was better than a lot of the restaurant meals we've had! We will definitely make this again. And, if we ever had company over for dinner, this would be a great meal.

This is not a difficult recipe and it didn't take long. But there are a few more steps that most of my recipes. It will be easier if you get out all the ingredients and measure out everything before you start. Then the cooking process goes quickly.

CHICKEN PICCATA

4-6 chicken cutlets*

1/3 cup flour

2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese

salt & pepper

4 tablespoons olive oil

4 tablespoons butter (divided)

1 cup white wine or chicken broth

6 tablespoons fresh lemon juice (I could only squeeze out 5)

tiny dash of red pepper flakes (optional)

1/4 cup brined capers

1/4 cup chopped parsley

Mix together flour, Parmesan, salt and pepper. Dredge chicken pieces thoroughly in flour mixture, until well coated.

Heat olive oil and 2 tablespoons butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add half the chicken piece—do not crowd the pan. Brown well on each side, about 3 minutes per side. Remove chicken to a plate. Repeat with other half of chicken pieces. Cover plate with foil and keep warm in oven while you prepare sauce.

Put garlic in pan and cook for one minute or less, being careful not to burn it. Add the wine (or broth,) lemon juice and capers (and red pepper flakes, if using) to the skillet. Use a spatula to scrape up browned bits from bottom. Reduce sauce by half. Whisk in the remaining 2 tablespoons butter. Plate the chicken and pour sauce over.

*I had a package of boneless, skinless chicken breasts. Buying the cutlets will definitely make this faster, but if you end up like I did, all is not lost. Cut the chicken breasts in half, horizontally. If these pieces are still thick, put pieces between plastic wrap and pound with a meat mallet until 1/4-inch thick.

While this dish doesn't call for it, I served this over whole wheat thin spaghetti. This was a good combination. It would also be okay without the spaghetti. It does not make a lot of sauce, so some sauce drizzled over the chicken on the plate would be fine, too. 

We have leftovers for tomorrow!

Leftovers make me happy.