Friday's Feast : Chicken Piccata

Here is my recipe for Chicken Piccata, I have altered a basic recipe that was in the March 1998 Bon Appétit. Amazingly, this is one the few things I make that ALL three of my finicky boys love. I mean we are talking seconds, thirds, and even fourths sometimes. It has a very small list of fresh ingredients and it is quick to make (about half an hour, ...after practice), but I will warn you: it looks like a hurricane passed through the kitchen when you are done. The process of flattening the breasts and then dredging them through flour seems to always make a giant flour-y mess. It might have something to do with the fact that I flatten the breasts to the size of a dinner plate (and you should, too, because they get smaller when you cook them, and they taste incrementally better the thinner you make them--and don't worry about beating them so thin that holes start to form, they happen and it is no big deal).

I've been making this for years, but I remember vividly making it for the first time.... We had three people over for dinner that night. I was going through a phase of making homemade Rustic Italian Bread (check Cooks' Illustrated Magazine for that amazing recipe), so I served the chicken with asparagus and the bread. After dinner, every plate was as shiny clean as when the table had been set.... even the platter that I had served from was mopped clean of the remaining sauce. Every morsel of food had been devoured. It was amazing and the recipe, of course, went to the top of my list of "sure fire winners."

One more tip: Don't be afraid to tinker with: the amount of butter and oil you sauté the chicken in and with the broth, wine, and lemon juice.... taste the sauce as you go and add more of any of the liquids to it so it suits your taste. My husband loves the lemon, so I always add a little more, for example. The sauce should be about the same consistency as gravy, NOT a hollandaise or gelatinous. DO NOT USE THE PHOTO ABOVE as a reference for how big your breasts should be.... I could not find a better one. (Sorry for the all-caps, but I mean it!)

Without further ado, here's the recipe:

4 skinless boneless chicken breast halves
3 tablespoons butter, room temperature
1 1/2 tablespoons all purpose flour
Additional all purpose flour

2 tablespoons olive oil, or more as needed
2 tablespoons butter, or more as needed

1/2 cup dry white wine
1/3 cup fresh lemon juice
1/2 cup canned low-salt chicken broth
1/4 cup drained capers
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley

Place chicken between 2 large sheets of plastic wrap. Using meat pounder or rolling pin, lightly pound chicken to 1/4-inch thickness. Sprinkle chicken with salt and pepper. Mix 1 tablespoon butter and 1 1/2 tablespoons flour in small bowl until smooth. Place additional flour in shallow baking dish or jelly roll pan. Dip chicken into flour to coat; shake off excess.

Heat 1 tablespoon oil in each of 2 heavy large skillets. Add 2 chicken breasts to each skillet and cook until golden and cooked through, about 3 minutes per side. Transfer chicken to platter; tent with foil to keep warm.

Bring wine, lemon juice and broth to boil in 1 skillet over medium-high heat. Whisk in butter-flour mixture and boil until sauce thickens slightly, about 2 minutes. Stir in capers, parsley and remaining 2 tablespoons butter. Season sauce to taste with salt and pepper. Pour sauce over chicken and serve.

This is excellent served with french risotto (see Julia Childs' classic recipe) and steamed asparagus or green beans.