Chicken Piccata and Green Beans with Bacon and Caramelized Shallots

I've never made or eaten chicken piccata before! It was one of the dishes we served at our wedding but at that time I was still a vegetarian. I found a recipe by Giada on the food network website and decided to try it tonight. My parents came over for dinner too so it was fun to try out something new.


Chicken Piccata
I followed the recipe as far as what to do, however I never measure anything - I go by how it looks and tastes. I know I used more broth than the recipe called for and the extra sauce was great over rice. Here is the original recipe.

Ingredients

• 2 skinless and boneless chicken breasts, butterflied and then cut in half (I used 3 breasts)
• Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
• All-purpose flour, for dredging
• 6 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 5 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil (I used a little less)
• 1/3 cup fresh lemon juice (ended up being the juice from one lemon)
• 1/2 cup chicken stock (I used a whole can - 14.5 oz)
• 1/4 cup brined capers, rinsed (I used a little less)
• 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 4 tablespoons of butter with 5 tablespoons olive oil. When butter and oil start to sizzle, add chicken and cook for 3 minutes. When chicken is browned, flip and cook other side for 3 minutes. Remove and transfer to plate. (the original recipe had me cooking half of the chicken at a time, but my pan was big enough to do all of it at once)
• 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. Add salt and pepper if needed.
• 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.

Jon and I really, really liked this so we'll definitely make it again. It was so easy, too! I spent about 15-20 minutes prepping and 15 minutes cooking.

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Green Beans with Bacon and Caramelized Shallots
I found a recipe for green beans on allrecipes.com. My only change was to use 3 slices of chopped bacon instead of pancetta. They were very yummy...bacon fat makes everything better!

Ingredients

• 1 1/5 pounds fresh green beans, rinsed and trimmed
• 3 oz coarsely chopped pancetta (I used 3 slices of chopped bacon)
• 1 shallot, thinly sliced
• Salt and pepper (I didn't use any - it didn't need it at all)

Directions

• Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add the green beans and boil 3 to 4 minutes until just tender. Drain beans and immediately plunge into ice water. Allow to sit in ice water until cold, then drain well, and set aside.
• Cook pancetta (bacon) in a large skillet over medium-high heat until crispy, then set aside.
• Reduce heat to medium, stir shallots into the pancetta (bacon) fat, and cook gently until the shallots have turned dark golden brown, about 10 minutes.
• Place pancetta (bacon) and green beans in skillet; toss and cook until warmed through, about 2 minutes.
• Season to taste with salt and pepper before serving. (I didn't do this)

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This whole dinner was so good but also so easy. I'm looking forward to making the chicken again. I'll make the beans again too, but not anytime soon because they aren't exactly the healthiest way to eat green beans!!