Chicken Picatta

 Slightly Adapted from Ina Garten

Wanna know a secret? I know you do...... Ok well I'm going to tell you anyway! I LOVE to watch cooking shows! HA! Ok, not a big secret, but hey it's a guilty pleasure for me. And not only that, but the Farming Tot LOVES to watch them with me, and his favorite to watch is The Barefoot Contessa! Go figure! I'm starting to think from here on out I should call him my little sous chef, since that really is more his title, he's always saying "Mommy, you should make this." or coming up with random ideas for food he wants. But even with all of that, when we were watching Ina make Chicken Picatta a couple weeks ago, I really did not expect him to be so enthusiastic about it and ask me to make it, usually his requests are more dessert oriented. But I decided, hey why not? Got everything to make it the next day, and while the Farming Hubby was home sick I made this along with Garlic Mashed Potatoes for my boys. And surprisingly it was a huge hit! Even my little guy ate the chicken and loved it! Now let me tell you, he is very much in that terrible two stage, and refuses to try almost anything new to his plate. But this one wasn't very hard to convince him of at all, in fact he's already asked that I make this again. Now I did change it up some, I didn't use any wine to make the sauce, instead I used chicken stock. And I added Panko to the Breadcrumb mixture because I just love panko! And also I forgot the add the last bit of butter to the sauce, and let me say we didn't miss it at all! I hope you all enjoy this delightful chicken dish! This recipe is for 2 servings, though I added a third chicken breast for us and had no problem with these measurements listed. But this would be a great, easy Valentine's Day dinner to whip up for your sweetie, even after a long day at work!

Ingredients:
2-3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (pounded out to 1/4 in. thick)
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 extra-large egg
1/2 tablespoon water
3/4 cup seasoned dry bread crumbs
1/4 cup panko
Good olive oil
1 1/2 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
1/3 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice (2 lemons), lemon halves reserved
1/2 cup chicken stock (or white wine)
Sliced lemon, for serving
Chopped fresh parsley leaves, for serving

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Line a sheet pan with parchment paper. Place each chicken breast between 2 sheets of parchment paper or plastic wrap and pound out to 1/4-inch thick. Mix the flour, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon of pepper in a shallow plate. In a second plate, beat the egg and 1/2 tablespoon of water together. Place the bread crumbs and panko on a third plate. Dip each chicken breast first in the flour, shake off the excess, and then dip in the egg and then the bread crumb mixtures. Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a large saute pan over medium to medium-low heat. Add the chicken breasts and cook for 2 minutes on each side, until browned. Place them on the sheet pan and allow them to bake for 5 to 10 minutes while you make the sauce.
For the sauce, wipe out the saute pan with a dry paper towel. Over medium heat, melt 1 tablespoon of the butter and then add the lemon juice, chicken stock, the reserved lemon halves, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Boil over high heat until reduced in half, about 2 minutes. Discard the lemon halves and serve 1 chicken breast on each plate. Spoon on the sauce and serve with a slice of lemon and a sprinkling of fresh parsley.

Review:
This really was so delicious, it was such a delightful change from our normal weeknight dinner. And I really enjoyed the burst of lemon, this gave it a summer feel that was very welcome with the cold weather we've been having (yes, even us here in the desert have experienced abnormally cold temps. lately). I hope you will give this a try soon, and that you enjoy it as much as we did! 4 stars.


The Farmers Wife


P.S. Don't forget to enter my Giveaway going on until Valentines day!