January 24, 2008

Chicken Piccata...Engagement Chicken a la Jackie

According to pop culture legend, there’s a roasted chicken recipe that will inspire your man to propose marriage. I never made the legendary "Engagement Chicken" recipe but I do think that my Chicken Piccata had something to do with my Husband popping the question. It was the first meal that I ever prepared for him back when we were dating. I made it all the time back then, and sure enough, not too long after I perfected the recipe, the ring was on my hand and we were walking down the aisle. It’s been almost 4 years of marriage, and this is still the only meal that the Husband asks me to make on a regular basis. Not only is Chicken Piccata a sentimental meal in our house, it's a good weeknight meal because the ingredient list is small and it takes less than 30 minutes to prepare. Double the recipe to have a nice lunch the next day.

Chicken Piccata



2 Chicken Breasts
Salt and Pepper
¼ Cup Dijon Mustard
1 egg, slightly beaten.
Breadcrumbs
1 Tablespoon Olive Oil
¼ cup dry white wine
¼ cup chicken stock
Juice of one half lemon (Slice the remaining lemon half into rings)
2 Tablespoons capers
1 Table spoon unsalted Butter (optional)
2 Tablespoons chopped fresh parsley

Pat chicken breasts dry and season with salt and pepper. Mix the egg and Dijon mustard in a medium-sized bowl. Toss the seasoned chicken in the egg and Dijon mustard mixture and then remove chicken from mustard bowl and place it in a medium-sized bowl of breadcrumbs. Toss chicken in breadcrumbs until the breasts are thoroughly coated.

Heat the oil in a pan on medium-high heat until very hot. Add chicken and cook for about 4 minutes on each side, or until cooked through. Remove the cooked chicken and set aside. Add the white wine to the pan and deglaze, scraping up the brown bits at the bottom of the pan. Then add the chicken stock and lemon juice and capers and bring to a boil. Boil for about 2 minutes, or until slightly reduced. (If you’re not counting calories, swirl in the butter here.) Turn down the heat to medium, then add the chicken back to the pan along with the parsley and lemon slices and cook until the chicken is heated through again, about 2 minutes. Season with additional salt and pepper if desired.

Serve over a hearty pasts such as spatzel or over Linguine or Pappardelle tossed in olive oil and Parmesan cheese.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hello, If you are going to put up a recipe on the web, I think it would be nice to be able to print it.
Thank you, anpeltier@aol.com

impendingrapture said...

I'm curious to the above poster, do you not know how to highlight and print a selection?