Chicken Piccata

 

Noah's Chicken PiccataI was about to say “my work here is done,” but that would imply that I don’t have any more advice or wisdom to pass on to my 21-year-old son. However, the photo above is not my Chicken Piccata. It’s his. At some point, I will be wearing a bib with a drool cup in my bony hands so it’s a good thing to know I’ll be well-fed as I reach for my box wine in the San Francisco mansion Noah assures me he’ll buy for our extended family in the not-too-distant future when he becomes rich and famous . It’s these small things that comfort me as I head into my twilight years.

“Mom,” Noah said when he came home for his birthday. “I want to cook you dinner.” Well, alrighty then. Not so very long ago that would have meant a skillet of Little Smokies or a quesadilla with the approximate ratio of 1 cup of oil to every tortilla. But that’s all changed now. And it’s changed, in part, because I caved in to a notion I did not originally embrace: I agreed to let Noah get his own apartment.

Noah 21The apartment included a kitchen. And the kitchen became Noah’s own culinary laboratory.  I just love modern technology. Now, he creates something in his kitchen and texts me a photo. Heck, he texted me a photo of an elegant caviar service he enjoyed for birthday dinner with his grandmother. I was pretty jealous about that. This is the same grandmother, Bunny, who introduced him to Little Smokies. I’d say the leap has been mighty.

Occasionally, he calls for cooking advice, but I got him a Fannie Farmer cookbook when he got the apartment. If it’s not in Fannie Farmer, you don’t need to know about it.

So, here’s the thing. The Chicken Piccata was perfect. No qualifiers. He also made mashed potatoes and corn, and while I would not choose white-on-white as a combination of sides, they were both delicious. He adds beef stock to his corn, kind of like making a risotto. Who thinks of that? Why would you do that? From now on, I will do that.

Here’s my recipe for Chicken Piccata. It’s at least as good as Noah’s. I think…

Chicken Piccata
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Recipe type: --
Cuisine: --
Prep time: 
Cook time: 
Total time: 
Serves: 4
 
Lemon, wine, chicken stock, capers = Chicken Piccata. If you don't like capers, I'm sorry for you.
Ingredients
  • 3 skinless, boneless chicken breasts, cut in half lengthwise
  • 1 cup all purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon pepper
  • 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
  • ½ cup dry white wine
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • ⅓ cup fresh lemon juice (juice from two medium lemons)
  • ½ cup chicken stock
  • ⅓ cup capers
  • 2 tablespoons butter
Instructions
  1. Pound chicken breasts until they are thin between two sheets of plastic wrap. Put flour, salt and pepper into a large plastic bag. Shake to combine. Add chicken a few pieces at a time to coat. Shake off excess flour.
  2. Heat oil in a skillet over medium high heat. Add chicken and sauté until browned on both sides. Remove to a plate and keep warm in a 170-degree oven.
  3. Pour out any excess oil from the skillet and add the wine and garlic. Cook until the liquid has reduced by half. Add the lemon juice, chicken stock and capers. Continue cooking until that mixture has reduced by half. Add the butter and swirl to combine. Add the chicken back to the pan and coat with the sauce
 

 

One Comment

  1. Julie
    JulieReply
    June 7, 2013 at 2:32 pm

    wow. that is simply wonderful. Hope he’ll take visitors in his SF mansion. I’ll come visit and spoon feed you some cheesy grits with juiced shrimp since you’ll obviously have no teeth…. 🙂

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