Saturday, February 13, 2010

Weekend Cooking: Parmigiano-Reggiano-Crusted Chicken Piccata

It's been a few weeks since I've participated in Weekend Cooking hosted by Beth Fish Reads. The last few Saturday mornings have found us in hotels (traveling to Daughter #1's college basketball games), but the games are 'home' this weekend. That means more time in the car driving back and forth both days, but at least we get to sleep in our own bed!

While preparing one of my favorite dinners earlier this week, I couldn't help but think of "Weekend Cooking". The Parmigiano-Reggiano Crusted Chicken Picatta from EveryDay with Rachel Ray magazine is just delicious... and so quick and easy! My husband and daughters seriously questioned my sanity as I tried to photograph their dinner, but I wasn't deterred. In the end though, my pictures were terrible. This one appeared in the magazine. There's a reason they professional food photographers!

PARMIGIANO-REGGIANO-CRUSTED CHICKEN PICATTA
(from EveryDay with Rachel Ray)

INGREDIENTS:

1/4 cup flour
2 eggs
1-1/4 cups grated parmigiano-reggiano cheese
4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves, pounded 1/4 inch thick
Salt
1/2 pound angel hair pasta
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil (EVOO)
Juice of 1 lemon, plus 1 sliced lemon
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1/4 cup capers, drained and patted dry, or 12 caper berries, sliced
1/2 cup dry white wine (eyeball it)
1/4 cup flat-leaf parsley leaves, chopped
1/2 cup chicken broth
2 tablespoons butter, chilled and cut into small pieces
One 5-ounce package baby spinach
Pepper

DIRECTIONS:
Place the flour on a plate. In a shallow bowl, beat the eggs; place 1 cup cheese on another plate. Working with 1 cutlet at a time, coat the chicken with the flour, then egg, then cheese, pressing to adhere. Transfer to a plate.

Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add salt, then the pasta and cook until al dente, 3 minutes. Drain, reserving a ladleful of water.

In a large nonstick skillet, heat 2 tablespoons EVOO, 2 turns of the pan, over medium heat. Add the chicken and cook, turning once, until deeply golden, 10 minutes. Transfer to a platter and cover with foil. Add the remaining 1 tablespoon EVOO, 1 turn of the pan, to the skillet. Add the sliced lemon, garlic and capers and cook for 2 minutes. Stir in the wine and parsley and cook until reduced, 1 minute. Lower the heat and bring to a simmer.

Stir the chicken broth into the sauce for 1 minute. Stir in the butter until melted, then stir in the lemon juice. Spoon a little sauce over the chicken. Add the spinach to the remaining sauce in the skillet and cook until wilted. Add the reserved pasta cooking water. Stir in the pasta and toss to coat; season with salt and pepper. Add the remaining 1/4 cup cheese and toss. Serve the pasta with the chicken.

Notes:
I use Wegman's Italian Blend fresh grated cheese. The recipe is still delicious without the parsley (why can't I remember to buy it?). I often skip the pasta, and serve it with roasted asparagus (or other vegies) and a salad.

More Weekend Cooking posts can be found at Beth Fish Reads.

19 comments:

  1. This looks so good and so easy (two important qualities!) Thanks so much for sharing it. And the asparagus would be awesome in the spring when it's fresh and tender.

    Food photography is so hard -- that's why I rarely include a photo of the recipes I share.

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  2. That looks so yummy. I can make delicious food, but boy it is not anything to look at!

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  3. Oh, my! Mouth watering over here!

    I love pasta and chicken, and anything connected to those two ingredients!

    I haven't done a lot of cooking lately (cooking for one, not fun!), but this looks like a good reason to have guests!

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  4. I love RR's magazine, and this recipe sounds divine! (My food photos are awful, too...wish I was as good as The Pioneer Woman!!)

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  5. This looks wonderful. I'm going to give it a try. I'm visiting my mother right now and she loves chicken. I have a hunch this will perk up her sagging appetite.

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  6. Yum! I love anything piccata, so I will most definitely try this one! Thank you!

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  7. Oooh, this looks absolutely delicious! Thanks for sharing, I'm definitely going to give it a try!

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  8. I had to LOL at your husband and daughters questioning your sanity at the notion of photographing their dinner ... it is the same reaction here. I know The Dean thinks I have lost it when I not only assemble ingredients, but then arrange them more artfully (ahem) for a better photo. 'Course, my photos are nothing remotely close to a professional's ...

    (I will confess that I read your comment on photographing their dinner and then glanced at the photo thinking, "Dang, for someone who didn't think she could photograph food, that JoAnn did a pretty good job!") :)

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  9. Wow....that looks delicious!! With the success I had with your soup I just may have to make these sometime for the family!

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  10. We LOVE chicken picatta! I will definitely have to try this recipe sometime soon.

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  11. lemon, capers...yum

    I think Rachel Ray often makes some very good looking recipes, but I just can't watch her show...something about her voice... :-)

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  12. Beth F - Good and easy are two qualities that so difficult to combine, but Rachel Ray has done it here.

    Bookmagic - LOL...sometimes good food isn't much to look at!

    Laurel-Rain Snow - Definitely! But this is so easy, you could do it with just one chicken breast in a little over 10 minutes.

    Jill - I subscribed to Rachel Ray's magazine when my daughter's class had a magazine sale fundraiser. I'm so glad I did!

    Margot - I sure hope this does the trick. It's delicious!

    Sandy - I love anything piccata, too! I'll be trying this recipe with tilapia soon.

    Dana - Be sure and let me know what you think.

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  13. Melissa - I think your ingredients were especially artfully arranged today ;-) My family was convinced I'd lost it as I was fixing the food on the plates and photographing from several different angles. It must have been the lighting that made it look so bad...

    Staci - I made that soup yesterday with a combination of ham and turkey bacon instead of the sausage (Twin A is not a sausage fan). It was good for a change, but I prefer the original version. Let me know if you try this one!

    Molly - I've tried a couple other chicken piccata recipes and this is the clear favorite.

    Caite - I've only seen the show once, but can see how her voice could grate on you. There have been several really good recipes I've found in her magazine.

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  14. I second that this is a fantastic recipe, and one that company always responds to very positively!

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  15. I love capers-this sounds delicious. I am horrid at food photos as you will see.

    here is my entry: http://chocolateandcroissants.blogspot.com/2010_02_01_archive.html#8415676676431921649 (Italian Mushroom Pockets)

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  16. I have trouble photographing food - I keep thinking I need a better camera, but it's probably my skills rather than the camera. That chicken piccata looks fabulous!

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  17. Rhapsody - This is definitely a favorite... I'm gpong to try it with tilapia or sole next time.

    Esme - Food photography sure is a lot harder than it looks ;-)

    Bermudaonion - Same here. I've been blaming it on the lighting, but it's probably just me.

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  18. Yummo! That looks like heaven on a plate. Of course I like anything that involves pasta & chicken. lol.

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  19. Dar - It is!! Pasta and chicken are two of my favorite dinner ingredients, too.

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