Chicken Piccata

WOW, is all I can say about what has been going on the past couple weeks with us. For those who aren’t familiar with our situation, my husband lost his news job last year. We ended up moving back to his home state of PA, while he pursued an instructor job at Penn State University, and took a break from his journalism career. But, the draw of news was way too strong and an opportunity came to get back in the business and also be close to family. I am proud to say that he’s the new News Director for WJAC in Johnstown, PA. There are so many things that we are thankful for and looking forward to. This past year we have been with my in-laws, and getting back out on our own, well, I can’t even put it into words. I’m excited to have my own kitchen again so I can cook and bake like crazy. I hope my husband’s new staff is ready for me. They have no idea how much food they will be eating. The next couple months we are going to be house hunting, kids finishing school, and moving,  so I will do my best to post as much as I can.

Back in January, my husband got me a subscription to Cook’s Illustrated magazine. One of the bonus items I received was their All Time Best Recipes magazine. It’s filled with many great things and one of them is this Chicken Picatta. I couldn’t wait to make it so I went out and got everything I needed. It was amazing, everyone loved it, especially my son. My son seriously loves lemons and this was right up his alley. The sauce is surprising light and refreshing with the lemon, chicken broth and butter. It was a great weeknight meal, serve with rice and a nice arugula salad.

 

Chicken Picatta:

  • 2 large lemons
  • 8 chicken cutlets or 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts cut in half, lengthwise
  • 1/2 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
  • 1/4 cup vegetable oil
  • 1 small shallot, minced (about 2 tbs) or 1 small garlic clove, minced or pressed through garlic press (about 1 tsp)
  • 1 cup low-sodium chicken broth
  • 2 tbs drained small capers
  • 3 tbs unsalted butter, softened
  • 2 tbs minced fresh Italian parsley leaves
  1. Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position, set large heatproof plate on rack, and heat oven to 200 degrees.
  2. Halve 1 lemon pole to pole. Trim ends from one half and cut crosswise into slices 1/8 to 1/4 inch thick; set aside. Juice remaining half and whole lemon to obtain 1/4 cup juice; reserve.
  3. Sprinkle both sides of cutlets with salt and pepper. Measure flour into pie tin or shallow baking dish. Working 1 cutlet at a time, coat with flour and shake to remove excess.
  4. Heat 2 tbs oil in heavy-bottomed 12-inch skillet over medium-high heat until shimmering. Lay half of chicken pieces in skillet. Saute cutlets, without moving them, until lightly browned on first side, 2 to 2 1/2 minutes. Turn cutlets and cook until second side is lightly browned, 2 to 2 1/2 minutes longer. Remove pan from heat and transfer cutlets to plate in oven. Add remaining 2 tbs oil to now-empty skillet and heat until shimmering. Add remaining chicken pieces and repeat.
  5. Add shallot or garlic to now-empty skillet and return skillet to medium heat. Saute until fragrant, about 30 seconds for shallot and 10 seconds for garlic. Add broth and lemon slices, increase heat to high, and scrape skillet bottom with wooden spoon or spatula to loosen browned bits. Simmer until liquid reduces to about 1/3 cup, about 4 minutes. Add lemon juice and capers and simmer until sauce reduces again to 1/3 cup, about 1 minute. Remove pan from heat and swirl in butter until butter melts and thickens sauce; swirl in parsley. Spoon sauce over chicken and serve immediately.

Source: Cook’s Illustrated All-Time Best Recipes

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