Triple Lemon Chicken Piccata

It was a stressful day, matter of fact a stressful week!  Friday felt more like Monday!  So tonight when I got home ALL I wanted to do was cook.  I had been imagining the chicken piccata all day!  But first I had to stop by the wine store. 

What?  "What was I doing in a wine store!"  You ask?  Believe it or not...I am out of white wine.  Well, except for that small, lonely bottle of Gewurztraminer in the wine rack.  But that is a wine too sweet for this dish.  I wanted something with citrus notes, a bit of resin and a tad dry.  So I hit the wine store and found a good reasonably priced 2008 Bolla Soave from Italy.  Perfect! 

Chicken piccata has become a favorite of ours.  It's relatively inexpensive, quick and so full of a few of our favorite flavors...lemons, capers, and more! 

I wanted to kick the lemon up a notch on this batch though.  I have some lemon verbena and chives that I am growing and figured they would make a great addition to the dish. 

Chicken piccata is one of those dishes that really stretches.  I took two chicken breasts, butterflied them and then pounded them flat, dredged them in flour, and sprinkle with fresh ground sea salt and fresh cracked pepper.  Then pan fried them in butter with a touch of olive oil.

I put the cooked chicken on a clean plate, drained most of the butter off, then added the chives and lemon verbena.  While the chicken had been pan frying, I had measured out 2 cups of my favorite chicken broth, College Inn Culinary Broth White Wine & Herb.  Penzey's spices makes a great lemon extract, so I added 2 tablespoons of it to the juice from 3 lemons. 

 

I also put 3 tablespoons of capers in a small dish.   By the way...I drain most of the liquid out of my caper jar and replace it with balsamic vinegar. 

I added the chicken broth to the pan, and brought it back to a boil, then added the lemon juice, lemon extract, and capers.  After it had cooked down, I added the capers, and finally two tablespoons of butter after the sauce had reduced. 

In the meantime I put on some angel hair spaghetti to boil.  While the spaghetti was cooking I finely grated about 1/2 cup reggiano parmesano cheese.  Once the spaghetti was done I drained it and tossed with the cheese and a tablespoon of butter.  This is how alfredo sauce should be made by the way!  No added milk or cream.  Just fabulous cheese and a dollop of butter. 

What were Ken and Scupper doing while I cooked?  It had been a stressful day for Ken also, so he relaxed outside on the patio.  Scupper had to lay on the grass and relax from his hectic day too I guess!  LOL. 

Right before serving I put the chicken into the sauce to warm it up but not overcook it. 

Plating was easy...pasta with the ooey-gooey cheese, then the chicken next to it with sauce spooned on.  A salad made of English cucumbers, tomatoes and avacados tossed with rice wine vinegar rounded out this fabulous meal!  No dessert needed!   

 

The wine was a perfect addition to the meal!