Chicken Piccata

Over the years, I've heard my Mom talk about how much she enjoyed Chicken Piccata and I actually made a version I found on Allrecipes a few months back. Needless to say, it didn't make it to my blog, because I thought it was absolutely awful! This version, however, was from a Barefoot Contessa cookbook and it was like night and day! This particular recipe was so flavorful and moist and so much easier to make. I actually made 6 good-sized chicken breasts, because I wanted to make sure I had leftovers for the weekend, since I'm working all day on Saturday and Sunday, but I kept all the rest of the ingredients the same and I actually still had to dump a little bit of the flour, egg and breadcrumbs. (I wasn't the least bit skimpy with my coating, either!) The sauce did have a distinctive lemony flavor, so I served it to my kids without the sauce and they both licked their plates clean. You may even want to consider cutting back on the amount of lemon juice, because it was a tad bit overpowering. Definitely a keeper :)

Chicken Piccata

4 split (2 whole) boneless, skinless chicken breasts
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
1 cup all-purpose flour
2 extra-large eggs
1 1/2 cups seasoned dried bread crumbs
Good olive oil
3 Tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/3 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice (2 lemons), lemon halves reserved
1/2 cup dry white wine
Sliced lemon for serving
Chopped, fresh flat-leaf parsley for serving

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Line a sheet pan with parchment paper.

Place each chicken breast between 2 sheets of parchment paper or plastic wrap and pound it out to 1/4 inch thick. Sprinkle both sides with salt and pepper.

Mix the flour, 1 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper on a shallow plate. In a second plate, beat the eggs and 1 tablespoon water together. Place the bread crumbs on a third plate. Dip each chicken breast first in the flour, shake off the excess and then dip in the egg and breadcrumb mixtures.

Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in a large saute pan over medium to medium-low heat. Add 2 chicken breasts and cook for 2 minutes on each side, until browned. Place them on the sheet pan while you cook the rest of the chicken. Heat more olive oil in the saute pan and cook the second 2 chicken breasts. Place them on the same sheet pan and allow them to bake for 5 to 10 minutes while you make the sauce.

For the sauce, wipe out the saute pan with a dry paper towel. On medium heat, melt 1 tablespoon of the butter and then add the lemon juice, white wine, the reserved lemon halves, 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Boil over high heat until reduced by half, about 2 minutes. Off the heat, add the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter and swirl to combine. Discard the lemon halves. Serve one chicken breast on each plate, spoon the sauce and serve with sliced lemon and a sprinkling of fresh parsley.

Source: Barefoot Contessa