Simple and delicious

Chicken Piccata
Everyday Italian Copyright 2005

4 skinless, boneless chicken breasts, halved crosswise I flattened them a bit too
½ teaspoon sea salt
½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
all-purpose flour, for dredging
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
½ cup reduced-sodium chicken broth
1/3 cup fresh lemon juice (from about 2 lemons)
¼ cup drained capers, rinsed I omitted these
2 tablespoons chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

Sprinkle the chicken with the salt and pepper. Dredge the chicken in the flour to coat lightly. In a large sauté pan, melt 2 tablespoons of the butter with the 2 tablespoons of oil over medium-high heat. Add the chicken and cook just until brown, about 3 minutes per side. Using tongs, transfer the chicken to a plate.

Add the broth , lemon juice, and capers to the same pan. Bring the broth mixture to a boil over medium-high heat, scraping up the brown bits from the bottom of the pan for extra flavor. Return the chicken to the pan and simmer until just cooked through, about 5 minutes. Using tongs, transfer the chicken to a platter. Whisk the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter into the sauce. Pour the sauce over the chicken, garnish with parsley, and serve. I strained my sauce before I poured it over the chicken.

4 main-course servings
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This wasn't the first recipe for chicken piccata I've tried. I made a version back in March but this version was much simpler to get on the table. I left the capers out of this recipe since the other recipe was fine without them and I was really trying not to add to many extras to my grocery cart last week. I still haven't gotten over breaking that last jar of capers I bought.

This is really a simple dish - basically some broth, some lemon juice, some butter - but, wow! I really like this stuff. I served it over Dreamfields spaghetti. The sauce is so good over pasta.

I test drove both of Giada's cookbooks by checking them out of my local library. I went on to purchase both of them. I have to admit, when I first saw her on Food Network, I wasn't that into her show. You know what they say - never trust a skinny cook. I've grown to love her recipes but, as someone pointed out to me, why are there so many pictures of her in this cookbook? Page after page of Giada and 'her girls' peeking out at me. She is not featured as much in Family Dinners but both cookbooks, while loaded with pictures of Giada and her friends and family and pictures of recipe elements, lack pictures of the finished dishes. Why include all those photographs and only throw in a few handfuls of pictures of the actual recipes?

A Blast From The Past: Easy Spicy Applesauce Muffins from April 2006. A really good muffin that would be great for this time of year (just think of how wonderful your how would smell after making these).

Question of the Day: Who are some of your favorite 'celebrity' chefs?