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!