Tasty Tuesday

I lived on the East Coast for about 8 years during and just out of college. You haven't had good Italian food until you've eaten in the North End of Boston or Federal Hill in Providence, of course the exception being Italy. During my time there, I fell in love with lemon, wine and garlic in cooking. Piccata, scallopini, marsala, etc. Mmmmmmm, tasty!. I have made some of these dishes and they can be a bit time consuming, so when I found this recipe in a Rachel Rey (30 minute meals) cookbook, I was very excited to try it. No, it's not quite the same as the full-blown meal, but it's quick and has a great lemony-wine taste. The best part about cooking with wine is that you can drink a glass while you're cooking, the bottle's already open. Slàinte!


Chicken Piccata Toss

1lb penne pasta
2 tbsp olive oil
1 ¼ lb chicken breasts cut into 1 inch pieces
Salt and pepper to taste
2 tbsp butter
4 cloves of garlic - chopped
2 medium shallots – chopped
2 tbsp flour
½ cup white wine (I use 1 cup)
The juice of one lemon (I use two)
1 cup chicken broth
3 tbsp capers – drained (I don't like food shaped like little green balls, so I don't add them)
½ cup chopped parsley
Chives for garnish

Cook pasta and drain.
Heat a deep nonstick skillet over med-high heat. Add 1 tbsp olive oil and the chicken to the pan (I added some garlic to the chicken while cooking). Season chicken with salt and pepper. Cook until lightly golden all over, about 5-6 minutes. Remove chicken and set in a serving dish while you prepare sauce. Return skillet to the heat and reduce to medium. To the skillet, add another tbsp of oil, 1 tbsp butter, the garlic and shallots and sauté for 3 min. Stir in flour and cook 2 minutes. Whisk in wine and reduce liquid, 1 min. Whisk lemon juice and broth into sauce. Stir in capers and parsley. When sauce comes to a bubble add remaining tbsp of butter to give it a little shine. Put the chicken back in the pan and heat through a minute or two. Toss hot pasta with chicken and the sauce. Top with chives and serve. Serves 4.