Chicken Piccatta

Have you ever been chatting with a friend and before long you're sharing recipes with each other? A couple of my favorite recipes that I make were given to me verbally in just this manner. This dish is just such a recipe. The original called for a full stick of butter however, I now use a butter and olive oil combo and I use much less. I have made some other tweaks, and this is the version I make on occasion. By the way, this recipe is great for unexpected company, since you can make the chicken stretch further by pounding it out.

Chicken Piccatta

3 Chicken Breasts

1/2 cup whole wheat pastry flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon pepper

tablespoons olive oil

3 tablespoons butter

juice of one lemon

1/2 cup chicken broth (or homemade equivalent)

1) Cut each breast into 4 smaller slices and pound out to 1/4 inch thickness

2) Mix flour, salt and pepper in a bowl and dredge the chicken pieces shaking off excess flour.

3) Heat oil and butter in pan for 1 minute, and turn oven on to warm setting.

4) Cooking chicken over medium heat in batches, brown the first side until the color you want is achieved and flip until the second side is browned. Keep each batch in the oven on a plate until all the chicken is cooked.

5) Add the juice of one lemon and 1/2 cup of chicken broth, heat on high until reduced by half. (Sometimes I add a generous splash of Chardonnay if I have it on hand).

6) Either add the chicken back to pan and gently toss to coat with sauce or pour the sauce over the chicken. Sprinkle with fresh parsley and serve with rice.

Note: I had two artichokes on hand so I cooked them up and diced the hearts in the pan...just did it on a whim and it really added a nice touch.