Chicken Piccata, The No-Fuss Version!

I had this THREE nights in a row!
Still not tired of it!

I love chicken piccata. I often order it out, and did recently at a fine Peruvian restaurant during a trip to Florida with my friend Catherine and her family. It was very good. It's usually always very good.

This weekend, Russ took me out to dinner to a restaurant we hadn't yet visited, Wine and Roses Restaurant in Broadalbin, New York. Russ ordered lasagna and I ordered spaghetti and meatballs. We were in an Italian mood, apparently! Wine and Roses is owned by Jim and Shelley Rose. Jim is the head chef at Skidmore College's Dining Services and told me about their restaurant, so when Russ asked me where I wanted to go Friday night, the decision was already made. If you live anywhere in the Saratoga/Sacandaga/Amsterdam area, you have to try this restaurant, it's great. The menu is full of great choices and the prices are unbelievable. The atmosphere is lovely, comfortable, and the parking lot was FULL (always a sign of a great restaurant!).

So, when it came time to think about dinner for Saturday night, I decided to cook. I had chicken breasts ready to be transformed into something wonderful, but wanted to stay away from a tomato-based Italian dish since we'd done that the night before. I was thinking light and fresh - lemon! So, I headed out to buy a nice bottle of white wine, capers, and those tiny little Yukon Gold potatoes to complete the meal. I based this recipe on one I found on allrecipes.com, and changed it up a bit. Click here for a link to the inspiration recipe and compare to the changes I made, which were very successful. Russ and I both loved it, and I have had it twice since! Now, it's gone but it won't be long before I make this simple and delicious recipe again!

CHICKEN PICCATA
Preheat oven to 250 degrees F
Get a cookie sheet ready and line with foil. Spray foil with vegetable spray. This will keep the cooked chicken warm while the sauce is being made.

Ingredients:
1 cup all-purpose flour, mixed with 1 teaspoon salt, 1/2 teaspoon black pepper. Put flour mixture in large zippered bag, or paper bag (you're going to shake the chicken pieces in the bag).

2 good-sized skinless, boneless chicken breast halves, trimmed and cut in half width-wise and each half cut again in half cross-wise (to make 8 pieces). This is easy if the chicken has a little frost in it, just barely thawed. (The original recipe used 4 chicken breast halves, but I only had 2, and it was plenty.)

1/2 cup butter

3/4 cup dry white wine

1 lemon, juiced (or 1/4 cup bottled real lemon juice works well)

One tablespoon flour, dissolved in 3 tablespoons water

1 tablespoon capers, or to taste (I like a lot)

1 lemon, sliced

chopped fresh parsley if you have it

Instructions:
Wash and pat dry chicken pieces. Shake pieces in bag to coat completely in flour mixture.

In large non-stick skillet, over medium heat, melt butter but don't let it brown. Place coated chicken pieces in butter in skillet and let cook for about 10 minutes, turning occasionally to cook/brown evenly (careful not to disturb the coating), about 10 minutes or until juices run clear. Remove from skillet and place pieces on cookie sheet. Keep warm in oven while the sauce is being made.

OK, the sauce:

Add wine to the butter in the pan and, using a wooden spoon, scrape up the solid pieces from the bottom of the pan. Don't remove, just stir well to dissolve. Add the lemon juice and capers and turn heat to low. Strain the flour/water mixture into the liquid, whisk or stir well, and allow to cook very slowly, about 10 minutes to reduce, stirring now and then until the sauce is thickened.

Platter the chicken pieces and pour the reduced sauce over all. Garnish with sliced lemons and parsley if you have them. If not, you won't miss a thing!

I served this with green beans and baby Yukon Gold potatoes, but you can serve it with pasta if you prefer. It's amazing!

Chicken Piccata, Dining In, and The Carolinas!

Dining Area in "No Regrets" Beach House

One week ago this evening we were rolling into Charleston, the last part of our trip to the Carolinas.  What a wonderful week plus a couple of days we had, me with my sister Anne and her family.  It's even more evident now that fond memories are all that are left of a lovely chunk of August 2012.  While the many-hours-long rides in the car to and from Emerald Isle, to Charleston, and back home were admittedly tough on everyone, I can actually say I enjoyed it.  Of course, I wasn't driving.  I got to sit in the back seat and observe like I never can when I'm the driver -- not just the changing landscape passing by, state by state, but also the interaction and conversations between the front seat and the back seat.  I read two books, and started a third.  I learned a lot about real estate -- Anne's an agent with Prudential in Saratoga Springs -- and a little bit about the car business (John works in the auto industry).  I kept up with my friends on facebook, tracked our routes (and alternate routes) on my Windows phone (really cool!),  and listened to some good music.  We had two cars going down, so I spent part of the time in my nephew Will's car (with my sister Anne) and part of the time in Anne's and John's car (again with Anne).  We headed home in one car leaving Charleston after Will was settled (not an easy good-bye).  Anyway...we spent so much time together that I really missed them just days after we got  home!  So today Anne and I met for lunch at the Olde Bryan Inn in Saratoga (very close to my office), and spent a too-short hour catching up after the four whole days since our trip ended!

Food is always a huge part of our trip to Emerald Isle.  This year, we were there for fewer days and ate out one night, so there were fewer home-cooked meals.  The ones we did have were great, though.  Will told me about a recipe he's made at home (my nephews are really good cooks!).  It was for chicken piccata, and he used Giada DiLaurentis's recipe from The Food Network.  He printed it out for me, and I had to improvise a bit because we didn't have everything the recipe called for, but what we did have created a truly delicious meal.  We bought too many packages (!) of thin-sliced chicken cutlets (no need to pound) which were lightly dredged and sauteed in equal parts olive oil and butter.  After they were removed from the pan, white wine (my addition) and lemon juice were added to create a sincerely delicious sauce.  We had left-over shrimp scampi from the night before, which complimented the piccata beautifully.

Giada's Chicken Piccata
(photo from The Food Network)

Here's a link to Giada's recipe, which is absolutely fine so no need to reiterate, and this is how I improvised with the resources on hand:

• I didn't have straight up AP flour, and didn't want to buy a whole bag since we were there for such a short time,  so instead I used Light Bisquick (purchased for the blueberry pancakes) with the additions of salt and pepper.  (It worked out beautifully.)
• I dipped the chicken cutlets in a beaten egg/milk mixture before dredging in the Bisquick.
• After the first few chicken cutlets were cooked, I placed them on a foil-lined cookie sheet that had been given a quick spray of cooking oil, to keep warm at 250-degrees Farenheit until all the cutlets were done.
• My olive oil/butter got a little too brown after cooking all the cutlets, so I started fresh.  I took about half that liquid, minus the browned bits, and put it in a fresh sautee pan, with a little more olive oil and butter, and then proceeded to add the wine (a few glugs, and not in the original recipe) and lemon juice to the new pan.  
• I didn't have parsley, and no one cared!  
• I served capers on the side, since some people are afraid of capers! 
• All the cutlets were placed on a large serving platter and the sauce was poured over top.  It was very saucy and sooooo delicious!

I can't believe I didn't take a picture, so Giada's will have to do.

If you want a really delicious and somewhat simple chicken dish, and you love lemon anything like I do, try this!

Giada DeLaurentis's Chicken Piccata

CHICKEN PICCATA

Chicken Piccata is one of those dishes I love to order out. I've had it at Pennell's in Saratoga Springs (the best) and even at Olive Garden (pretty good!).  I never make it at home because I don't keep capers in my pantry, and for some reason in the winter I don't always have lemons (though in the summer it seems I buy three at a time, every week).

This recipe is listed as "EASY" on The Food Network Web site. With capers, some chicken stock, and fresh lemons, you can transform that same old boneless chicken breast into something worth staying in for! Serve it with asparagus spears and some of those pretty little red potatoes with just the middle peeled, and you've just created a very elegant dinner!

Recipe courtesy of The Food Netowrk's Giada DeLaurentis
4 servings

Ingredients

2 skinless and boneless chicken breasts, butterflied and then cut in half
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
All-purpose flour, for dredging
6 tablespoons unsalted butter
5 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1/3 cup fresh lemon juice
1/2 cup chicken stock
1/4 cup brined capers, rinsed
1/3 cup fresh parsley, chopped

Directions

Season chicken with salt and pepper. Dredge chicken in flour and shake off excess.

In a large skillet over medium high heat, melt 2 tablespoons of butter with 3 tablespoons olive oil. When butter and oil start to sizzle, add 2 pieces of chicken and cook for 3 minutes. When chicken is browned, flip and cook other side for 3 minutes. Remove and transfer to plate. Melt 2 more tablespoons butter and add another 2 tablespoons olive oil. When butter and oil start to sizzle, add the other 2 pieces of chicken and brown both sides in same manner. Remove pan from heat and add chicken to the plate.

Into the pan add the lemon juice, stock and capers. Return to stove and bring to boil, scraping up brown bits from the pan for extra flavor. Check for seasoning. Return all the chicken to the pan and simmer for 5 minutes. Remove chicken to platter. Add remaining 2 tablespoons butter to sauce and whisk vigorously. Pour sauce over chicken and garnish with parsley.

Photo and original recipe found at: http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/cda/recipe_print/0,1946,FOOD_9936_22319_RECIPE-PRINT-FULL-PAGE-FORMATTER,00.html