10/10/10 - Chicken Piccata!

One issue we have with LA that we believe we have mentioned is the lack of good Italian food at a reasonable price. So, we have taught ourselves to make some of our basic favorites. Tonight we take on the chicken piccata. Our version is very close to a chicken francese

The Wine Kitty recommends the Zaca Mesa '07 Z Blanc to go with the chicken dish. While Zaca Mesa is mostly known for their delicious Syrahs, this is a buttery, oaky, golden white drinks like a high-end Napa chardonnay but is a blend of 74% Roussane, 22% Grenache & 4% Viognier. You can only get this wine at their winery or through their online store. It retails for about $32 ($29 if you are a member of ZM's wine club).

Chicken Piccata


2 large skinless boneless chicken breast halves
2 Tbsp butter, room temperature
1 tablespoon all purpose flour
2 tablespoons olive oil
¼ cup dry white wine
¼ cup chicken stock
¼ cup fresh lemon juice
2 Tbsp drained capers
¼ cup chopped fresh parsley
Salt/pepper

Place chicken between 2 large sheets of plastic wrap. Lightly pound chicken to 1/2-inch thickness. Salt and pepper chicken pieces. Coat each chicken piece in flour.

Heat 1 Tbsp oil and 1 Tbsp butter in a large skillet. Add chicken and cook until golden and cooked completely, about 3 minutes per side.

Transfer chicken to plate and keep warm.

Mix 1 Tbsp butter and 1 Tbps flour in small bowl until smooth. Bring wine, stock and lemon juice to boil in skillet over medium-high heat. Whisk in butter-flour mixture and stir for a minute until sauce thickens. Stir in capers and parsley. Season to taste. Pour sauce over chicken and serve or toss chicken in pan with sauce and serve.

We paired the piccata with our grilled romaine leaves. If you are carving some carbs, you can also whip up a side of spaghetti or penne and use the extra lemon butter sauce on the pasta.

Saturday, May 8: Three's Company

Laura's mom is visiting this weekend from New Jersey. She asked for some of Mike's fresh pasta for dinner.

Since it was sort of a warm day in Venice, and Laura's mom prefers whites over reds, we decided to pair the dinner with a white syrah. Yes, you read that correctly. It's called Babcock Identity Crisis from  Babcock Winery and it's a mere $15. It has a light strawberry color but it's not sweet at all; it's actually quite dry. It went down very quickly between the 3 of us.

Chicken Piccata

2 large skinless boneless chicken breast halves

2 Tbsp butter, room temperature

1 tablespoon all purpose flour

2 tablespoons olive oil
¼ cup dry white wine

¼ cup chicken stock

¼ cup fresh lemon juice

2 Tbsp drained capers

¼ cup chopped fresh parsley

Salt/pepper

Cut each half breast in half to make two large thin pieces. Place chicken between 2 large sheets of plastic wrap. Lightly pound chicken to 1/4-inch thickness. Salt and pepper chicken pieces. Coat each chicken piece in flour.

Heat 1 Tbsp oil and 1 Tbsp butter in a large skillet. Add chicken and cook until golden and cooked completely, about 3 minutes per side. Transfer chicken to plate and keep warm.

Mix 1 Tbsp butter and 1 Tbps flour in small bowl until smooth. Bring wine, stock and lemon juice to boil in skillet over medium-high heat. Whisk in butter-flour mixture and stir for a minute until sauce thickens. Stir in capers and parsley. Season to taste. Pour sauce over chicken and serve or toss chicken in pan with sauce and serve.

Mediterranean Artichoke Pasta

8 ounces spaghetti, cooked and drained

1 clove garlic, minced

1 Tbsp minced onion

1 can (14 1/2 oz size) diced tomatoes, drained

1 cup artichoke hearts; drained and quartered (canned or frozen)

1 can (2 1/4 oz size) pitted ripe olives, sliced

3 Tbsp olive oil

1/4 cup shredded Parmesan cheese

Salt/pepper to taste

While we don't normally do dessert, we couldn't resist this Chocolate Cream Pie on sale at Marie Callendar's this week for $6.99. Yum!