Chicken Piccata

Today's recipe is an Italian chicken dish that I made a couple days ago.  I've had chicken piccata at restaurants, but this was my first time making it here at home.  It turned out DEE-lish.  First off, ANY dish that uses fried chicken as a base can't be all that bad and combined with lemon, buttery flavors--it can't help but be a winner.

Ingredients

• 2 skinless and boneless chicken breasts, butterflied and then cut in half
• Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
• All-purpose flour, for dredging
• 6 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 5 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 1/3 cup fresh lemon juice
• 1/2 cup chicken stock
• 1/4 cup brined capers, rinsed
• 1/3 cup fresh parsley, chopped

Directions

Season chicken with salt and pepper. Dredge chicken in flour and shake off excess.

In a large skillet over medium high heat, melt 2 tablespoons of butter with 3 tablespoons olive oil. When butter and oil start to sizzle, add 2 pieces of chicken and cook for 3 minutes. When chicken is browned, flip and cook other side for 3 minutes. Remove and transfer to plate. Melt 2 more tablespoons butter and add another 2 tablespoons olive oil. When butter and oil start to sizzle, add the other 2 pieces of chicken and brown both sides in same manner. Remove pan from heat and add chicken to the plate.
Into the pan add the lemon juice, stock and capers. Return to stove and bring to boil, scraping up brown bits from the pan for extra flavor. Check for seasoning. Return all the chicken to the pan and simmer for 5 minutes. Remove chicken to platter. Add remaining 2 tablespoons butter to sauce and whisk vigorously. Pour sauce over chicken and garnish with parsley.

Tips & Mods

-I actually didn't alter this recipe in any way.  I will say though, if you're not a person who is big on lemon-y flavors--you may want to reduce the quantity of lemon juice by just a tad.

-This is an Italian dish, so whenever I've been served this in a restaurants, it was always over pasta or another pasta dish was with it as a side.  I wasn't wanting pasta this particular day, so I had it with oven-roasted broccoli and Parmesan mashed potatoes. 

Hope you guys enjoy!

Recipe courtesy of Giada de Laurentis of The Food Network