Tonite for Timoz - Chicken Piccata

This is how chicken piccata normally looks

I often make this dish for T for his late night dinner when he comes home from work at the restaurant.  For whatever reason, he absolutely LOVES this dish and given the option he will usually choose Chicken Piccata for his menu choice.  (I really don't know why, it's ridiculously easy.)

I've refined the recipe down to the following for his specific tastes and for my need - chicken piccata is normally dusted in flour before searing.  I skip this step for the sake of time.  I also make a LOT more sauce because he likes to eat it with toast instead of pasta.  If you haven't figured it out yet - the man LOVES sauce.

• Chicken breast 
• Slice horizontally through the breast (butterflied) to open up it up like a book.  If it's easier for you to slice through it completely, that is fine.  Watch this on youtube.
• Cover with a piece of plastic on your cutting board and use a meat mallet to pound the resulting chicken breast into an even thickness.  This accomplishes two things - it makes for more even cooking AND it tenderizes the chicken.  (The youtube video uses a top and bottom layer of plastic wrap - but if you just cut the chicken on that board, just put a single layer on the top of the opened chicken breast.)
• Heat a regular, heavy bottomed skillet to medium high (non-stick is okay, but you won't get any fond or caramelized bits for the sauce)
• Sear the chicken on both sides - you don't need to make sure that it is cooked all the way through, just make sure you have some nice color on the protein.  I like to use Heston's searing method of flipping the meat every 15 seconds on a higher temperature to ensure a more juicy product.
• Remove the chicken from the pan and set aside - reduce the heat of the pan to medium/medium-low 
• OPTIONAL - deglaze with a bit (1/4-1/2 cup) of white wine and boil gently until the wine is reduced to a few tablespoons.
• Add reduced "liquid gold" (see previous post) or if you are in a pinch, you can use Swanson's chicken stock concentrate (salty) or Trader Joe's Savory Broth concentrate. If you use the concentrate, add about 1/4 to 1/2 of the recommended water so you can bypass the reduction step.
  (click the image below if you want to see a review of the product from a blog I found on the interweb)
  
• Taste the liquid so that you know how much you will have to season your sauce. 
• Season your sauce with capers (and some caper liquid), fresh lemon juice, salt and fresh cracked pepper to taste.
• Thicken with beurre manie (my preferred method of thickening sauces because it makes reheating sauce very consistent - very unfortunate due to my own gluten sensitivity but manageable with gluten free flour replacements).  Remember to simmer until the uncooked floury taste is no longer there.
• Add the seared chicken back into the simmering sauce to warm and gently cook through if needed.
• Serve over pasta or with toast alongside to sop up that delicious sauce

The best thing about cooking for yourself and your loved ones is that you have the opportunity to season it specifically to your palate.  Cook dishes the way that YOU like it.  Even if it isn't entirely traditional - no one is coming to your house to slap you with a fine.  It's YOUR recipe - make it to your liking and make it your own.  =)  Cooking is subjective.  Enjoy it.

Picture of the FIRST time I ever made chicken piccata for T

The first time I made this recipe for Tim, I sliced the chicken breast into medallions instead of pounding the meat because I was tired.  Using the meat mallet is key for a more tender chicken dish.