Chicken Piccata

Tonight I wanted to do a dinner that was a little more involved than my Ravioli with Spicy Sage Butter from yesterday. I had recently seen an episode of the Barefoot Contessa on the Food Network Channel and Ina Garten was making Chicken Piccata for her husband as he was on his way home from work. I was mildly envious of Ina's beautiful white kitchen and the fact that her husband was able to be home from work while it was still daylight, and while I knew those were two things I might not be able to have right now, I could still make a delicious Chicken Piccata.

For some excellent tips on ensuring you cook your chicken to perfection, check out my earlier post.

Ingredients

• 2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 egg
• 1/2 tablespoon water
• 3/4 cup seasoned dry bread crumbs
• Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature, divided
• 1/3 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice (2 lemons), lemon halves reserved
• 1/2 cup dry white wine
• Sliced lemon, for serving

Gather together your ingredients for dredging the chicken - flour, egg, water, bread crumbs, salt and pepper.

 Mix 1/2 teaspoon of salt and 1/4 teaspoon of pepper with the flour on a plate. Then beat together the egg and water and put it on another plate. Set aside.

Put your chicken between two pieces of parchment paper or saran wrap and pound thin. I usually use my rolling pin for this.

It should be of even thickness now.

Now's the time to put your pan on the heat (no oil yet!).

Dredge the chicken in the seasoned flour.

Dip in the egg wash.

Then coat in the breadcrumbs.

Now, your pan should be nice and hot so go ahead and add some oil. It should swirl around and steam a bit. Place your chicken in the pan and watch it closely. The seasoned breadcrumbs can burn easily if you get distracted.

It should only take a minute or two on each side.

Now set the chicken aside on a lined cookie sheet and put your second chicken breast in the pan. If you noticed that you have some burned bits in the pan, go ahead and wipe it out with a paper towel and add more oil before putting your next chicken breast in.

Once all your chicken is seared and on the cookie sheet, pop it into your pre-heated 400°F oven and cook for 5 minutes.

Now, it's time for the sauce!

Gather the lemons, white wine, butter and salt and pepper.

Wipe out any burned bit from your pan and melt a tablespoon of butter in it. Add the wine, lemon juice, lemon halves, 1/2 teaspoon of salt and 1/4 teaspoon of pepper.

Reduce the liquid by half, about 3-5 minutes.

Remove the lemon halves and any seeds that might have fallen out. Remove the pan from the heat and swirl in the remaining two tablespoons of butter.

Plate your chicken with a spoonful of sauce and a twist of lemon. Enjoy!