Chicken Piccata

Oh, Chicken Piccata, I have feared you & your intimidating process for years.  My thoughts were that you had too many ingredients, which means a fairly pricey dish & I lacked the skills of a trained chef to be able to pull you off.  Haha, I can laugh at those thoughts now because I defunct-ed all of them after finally attempting to make you.  I omitted (mushrooms & artichoke bottoms) a few of the ingredients to make it a more reasonably priced dish, which also simplified the process into a skillet meal, so that you too can enjoy making this amazing dish for your family tonight.  My hubby has been nagging...yes, men nag too ;) to make this for years so you can imagine the look on his face when he walked through the door, after a long day a work to find this dish waiting for him to devour.  The sauce is what makes this dish what it is, a creamy, lemon-y, garlic explosion of flavor that leaves you licking your plate for every last drop.  You have to make this for your family & come back & share with me your experience watching them devour it.  Also, this makes a great dish for your next dinner party, so easy & will leave them thinking you slaved for hours ;) 

Ingredients:

1/3 cup flour

2 tablespoons parmesan cheese

salt, pepper & garlic powder to taste

2 chicken breasts, butterflied

2 tablespoon butter, divided

1 tablespoon olive oil

2-3 garlic cloves, grated (about 3/4 tsp)

1 cup chicken stock

3 tablespoons heavy cream

1 1/2 tablespoons capers

2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

In a shallow dish, combine flour, cheese, salt, pepper & garlic powder.  Pat dry your chicken with a paper towel, so the coating with adhere.  Coat each piece entirely in flour mixture.  In cask iron skillet, over medium high heat, melt together 1 tablespoon of butter & 1 tablespoon olive oil.  Add chicken and cook on each side for 3-5 minutes until they begin to brown.  Remove them & place on a plate, cover with foil and allow to rest for 5 minutes.  Meanwhile, in very hot water clean your cast iron skillet to remove any charred bits and return to stove (optional).  I rinsed mine only because some bits of parmesan had charred slightly, in the bottom & I wanted to avoid transferring that charred flavor into the sauce.    

In a cast iron skillet, melt remaining tablespoon butter, over medium heat.  Add garlic & cook for about 1 minute.  Add stock, lemon juice and cream, simmer to reduce til it's about half as much liquid.  Add capers & then chicken back to the skillet. Place in preheated oven at 250F (yes, you read that right) uncovered for about 25-30 minutes.  Garnish with fresh parsley. 

Makes 4 servings

Big southern hugs, 

Angie