Chicken Piccata

Chicken Piccata Ina: For year and years and years. Everytime Jeffrey came home on Friday night, I would make roast chicken and the one day I thought I’ve got to be a little more creative than this. I want the house to smell great, and of course I want to make chicken. So each time I challenge myself to make something new, making Chicken Piccata which is wonderful. I am going to start with two chicken breasts. I want to do a coating for them. So they are sautéed and lemon and butter sauce. So good, so the first thing I need is half of cup of flour, this is all purpose flour, half of teaspoon of salt, quarter of a teaspoon of pepper, I’m just going to mix that all together. So that is the first part of the coating. And this can be dipped into one egg. You just mix with a little touch of water. Just beat it all together. The next part of the coating is bread crumbs, and you see some bread crumbs, about three quarters of a cup. Okay, just a little oil on the pan, just a few tablespoons. And while that gets hot, I am going to take the chicken breast and pummel that so they get really thin, just even, they compress their sort of thicker parts and the thinner in other part in this way they cook more evenly and they cook more really quickly. Rolling pins are a good basher. Some people have meat pounding things but, everybody has a rolling pin. I like them between a quarter and a half inch thick. And just do in two directions so it ends up smooth, it does not end up with ridges. So the first one goes into the flour, and just make sure it is coated all over and shake off the excess and to the eggs. The four dries it out and then the eggs make it so that the bread crumbs will adhere. And then the bread crumbs. Season dried bread crumbs. Right into the pan, perfect, just two minutes on each sides until it is golden brown. Okay that guy is done. Perfect, now the next one, a little oil. Right into the pan. Two minutes on each side. I wonder if this is going to replace Jeffrey’s favorite roast chicken for Friday night chicken dinner. Perfectly done. Okay, I will put this on a sheet pan. Keep it warm on the oven, 400 degrees for about 10 minutes right along inside with the red onions and then I am going to make nice lemon butter sauce to go with it. Perfect timing. Okay just for Jeffrey. The weekend starts now. Jeffrey’s going to see us changing, the bread onions are roasting in the oven, butter milk mash potatoes are done, and now I just have to make the sauce of the Chicken Piccata. The first thing I’m going to do is, just wipe out the pan and I cooked the chicken in. And I am just going to heat up a tablespoon of butter, so the chicken is warm in the oven. I’m just keeping it warm in the oven and I will just make a nice sauce for it. Now, I need third a cup of freshly squeezed lemon juice. It’s probably two lemons. I’m just going to pour it right in to the butter. Okay now, half a cup of white wine, really nice dry white wine, something I drink for dinner. Half of teaspoon of salt, quarter teaspoon of pepper, and this is what I’m going to do with lemon, I’ll put them right on the sauce so you get the flavor of the zest. It just cooks together. So, I’m just going to reduce this by half, it will take about two minutes, while I chop up some parsley and some slice lemons, to put on the chicken. So the onions—I have a little vinaigrette left over from the marinating which I always have to put on at the end. You just toss them all together, this is so good. It is going to be a wonderful. Okay and then the chicken, some of the piccata sauce that looks pretty good. Some slices of lemons, it’s lemon Piccata, A little bit of parsley. These roasted onions smell so good. I love the way they look. Put some of mashed potatoes, Buttermilk mashed potatoes. Your timing is perfect as always. Guess what is for dinner? Jeffrey: Well let’s see. It is Friday, chicken but what kind of chicken? Ina: It is Chicken Piccata. Jeffrey: Looks great. Ina: Is it out there with the roast chicken. Jeffrey: You know I used to think that roast chicken was the only thing I can have on Friday night. But this Chicken Piccata, this is just as good.