Chicken Picatta

Thanks for the picture, Inge.

I had some friends over for dinner last Saturday. So, I had to refine this recipe a bit so it was doable for a bunch of people.

Here you go.
Pre heat the oven to 211 degrees F.

Start with:

• Chicken breasts. 1/2 to 1 for each person. It just depends on the people.
• Fresh lemon, sliced just under 1/4" (about 5 mm) - two slices per chicken breast.

Pound the chicken with a mallet or a can of vegetables until it is uniformly about 3/8" thick (9 mm). It is better to use many lighter strokes than fewer heavy ones.

Use a sealable, oven-proof dish and put it in the oven. I used glass casserole dish with a cookie sheet to cover the top. A dutch oven or pottery dish with lid would work as well.

Heat a skillet or dutch oven medium high nad add

• 1 T Olive oil
• 1 T butter
• 1/2" anchovy paste (assuming a 1/8" diameter exit hole in the tube)

Fry the lemon slices for about 15 seconds on each side and set them aside (or add them to the sealed dish in the oven). It should be just enough to brown it a tiny bit.

Fry chicken breast for 1 minute per side. Exactly 1 minute. Do not overcook. It will make the chicken less tender.

Add the cooked chicken to the sealed dish in the oven with the lemon slices.

Repeat (by add some more olive oil, butter and anchovie paste and frying more lemon slices and chicken) with however much chicken and lemon fits in your skillet until its all browned and put in the oven. The last chicken will need to stay in the oven for at least 10 minutes. Leave it in there while preparing the sauce.

You may need to "double" or "triple" the folowing ingredients to make enough sauce for all the chicken. These quantities are sufficient for 6-8 chicken breasts (6-8 people)

Add the following to the skillet in which you cooked the chicken/lemon slices:

• 1/2 c dry white wine (I used Pinot Grigio)
• The juice of 1 lemon (save the zest for later)
• 1/2 c chicken broth
• 1/2 tst beef boullion (or similar)

Scrape around on the dish to get all the stuck on flavor into the sauce. 

Cook on high to reduce by half. 

Cut the heat to where it will simmer and add:

• 1/4 tsp dried majoram flakes (use oregano in a pinch)
• 1/2 tsp fresh chopped tarragon (use half as much dried flakes in a pinch or just leave it out)
• 1/4 tsp white pepper (or a few grinds of fresh black pepper)
• 1 Tbsp fresh chopped italian parsley

Simmer for 3 minutes and add:

• 2 Tbsp capers

Remove from heat and float this on top:

• 2 Tbsp butter

Do not stir. Let it float and melt. 

Serve by removing each chicken breast from the sealed dish in the oven and topping with

• A bit of sauce
• A sprinkling of lemon zest
• A tiny bit of fresh chopped italian parsley
• (optional) sliced fresh arugula (you may or may not like this)
• maybe, just a tiny, tiny bit or salt and/or pepper

Enjoy.

Chris's Mom's Bowtie Pasta Salad

Now is a good time to start bringing a large pot of water to boil. It will be used to cook the pasta.

Boil the following in a saucepan until done

• 1 c chicken stock
• 1 lb chicken breast strips

Remove the chicken. Reserve the liquid.

The large pot of water should be boiling (if not get it that way). Add the pasta and stir a bit to keep the pasta from sticking. Follow directions on the package as to how long to cook. Directions for removing are below. (You will save some of the water.)

• 12 oz Farfalle (bowtie) pasta (I prefer the larger size, not the mini-bowties.)

While the pasta cooks, heat a skillet to mediium high with

• 2 Tbsp butter

Brown chicken strips then add:

• 1/4 c white wine (or water)
• reserved chicken stock (from above)

Reduce by 1/2 and then add:

• 1 can cream of condensed mushroom soup (or cream of chicken)
• 1/2 cup pesto sauce
• 1/4 c cream (or milk)

Reduce heat and simmer, stirring for 1 minute. Remove from heat and set aside until the pasta is ready.

When the pasta is done, But not too done. Set aside two cups of the pasta water. 

Remove the pasta from the water and drain it.

Mix the sauce and the pasta. Thin with however much pasta water is needed.

Serve hot or warm.