Chicken Piccata and Cookies
Chicken Piccata
Prepare Ingredients:
-Pound a couple pieces of boneless, skinless, thinly sliced chicken breasts between two pieces of wax paper (the pack from my food store had five pieces in it) until desired thinness has been achieved.
-Rinse two teaspoons of brined capers in cold water, drain and set aside
-Finely chop half a bunch (about 1/3 of a cup) of fresh, flat-leaf parsley
-Squeeze the juice from one lemon
-Have sea salt, black pepper, white pepper, a bottle of white wine, olive oil and unsalted butter on hand
Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil, and 3 tablespoons of butter in a large skillet, until bubbling hot. Season the chicken with salt and black pepper on both sides and place a few pieces gently (two or three, depending on their size) in the butter and oil. Shake the skillet often, so the butter and oil get under the chicken evenly, and brown one side for approx. 4-5 minutes. Gently flip over (long handled tongs come in handy here!) and brown the other side. Chicken should be cooked through completely.
Repeat the process with the remaining pieces of chicken, adding more butter (but not more oil) as necessary to keep the pan "wet" :D After all the chicken is finished, reserve on a covered plate.
To the pan, which should still be on and very hot, add a healthy splash of white wine. (I didn't measure, but I would say about 1/4-1/3 of a cup, more or less depending on your taste preferences). Use the wine to scrape up the delicious brown bits from the bottom of the skillet, and when the bottom is cleaned off, add the lemon juice, salt and black pepper to taste and four small pinches of white pepper. Add a tablespoon or so of butter and stir in until melted.
Let this mixture cook for a very brief time, maybe 1-2 minutes, and add the capers and parsley. Mix to combine and then add the chicken back to the pan and turn to coat. Heat the chicken through (if it has cooled off too much) and serve immediately. ^_^
For dessert, I made Chocolate Chai Spice Cookies, that I made completely out of my head! I was so proud :) I will write the recipe down soon and post it, but until then, here is a picture. I lightened it a bit in photoshop because the picture itself was rather dark :P
Enjoy the Chicken Piccata recipe! It's simple and really quick, also it is my own version- the original calls for coating the chicken first in a dusting of flour. Everything else is the same, but the sauce is creamier. :)
Rachel