Thursday, February 24, 2011

M: Meyer Lemon Chicken Piccata and a Cocktail

I do have to thank Cooking Light for these recipes – this month’s issue is fantastic! I tend to have a love-hate relationship with this magazine. Sometimes there is not one recipe I would even think about trying, but most times there is at least a few. This month, I’m pretty sure I want to make every single recipe!

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This dinner was seriously amazing. Of course, being Cooking Light, it’s a slightly lighter version of a normal chicken piccata. But, the lemon flavor was spot-on. Not overwhelming, just perfect. And, since Meyer lemons are in season right now and I bought a ton of them at Whole Foods (and apart from squeezing them into my sweet tea) this was definitely the best use for them! Let’s do this…

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Sprinkle your cutlets with salt and pepper and dredge in a shallow dish of flour. Melt 1 TB of butter in a large hot skillet. Add your cutlets to the pan and cook about 2 minutes. Turn cutlets over and cook for about 1 minute. Cook your remaining cutlets the same way.

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Add wine to the pan and bring to a boil, scraping the pan to loosen browned bits. Cook for about 1 minute or until the liquid almost evaporates (Please excuse the permanent brown stains on my pan – my set has seen lots of wear and tear!).

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Add chicken broth, cook about 4 minutes. Stir in lemon juice and capers. Then serve over chicken and sprinkle with fresh parsley! I served with mashed potatoes and a brussel sprout casserole (which deserves its own post – will be coming soon!)

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And to perfectly compliment my Meyer lemon chicken? Why, a Meyer lemon champagne cocktail of course! (recipe below) So good!

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Meyer Lemon Chicken Piccata

from Cooking Light

2 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves (or 4 cutlets)

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp pepper

1/4 cup AP flour

2 TB butter, divided

1/3 cup sauvignon blanc, or other crisp white wine

1/2 cup fat free/low sodium chicken broth

1/3 cup fresh Meyer lemon juice (about 3 lemons)

2 TB capers, rinsed and drained

1/4 cup chopped flat leaf parsley

Split chicken breast halves in half horizontally to form 4 thin cutlets. Pound each cutlet between 2 sheets of plastic wrap to about 1/4 inch thick. Sprinkle cutlets with salt and pepper. Place flour in a shallow dish. Dredge cutlets in flour.

Melt 1 TB butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add 2 cutlets to pan, and cook about 2 minutes. Turn over and cook about 1 minute or until cooked through. Remove cutlets. Melt remaining TB of butter in pan and cook last 2 cutlets the same way.

Remove cutlets (I placed onto a plate and wrapped with foil to keep warm). Add wine to pan, bring to a boil, scraping pan to loosen browned bits. Cook about 1 minute or until liquid is almost evaporated. Stir in chicken broth. Bring to a boil. Cook until broth mixture is reduced to about 2 TB (about 4 minutes). Stir in lemon juice and capers. Serve over chicken. Sprinkle with parsley.

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Sparkling Meyer Lemon Cocktail

from Cooking Light

1 cup water

1/3 cup sugar

1 rosemary sprig

1 cup fresh Meyer lemon juice, chilled (about 8 lemons)

1/3 cup chilled vodka

2 cups chilled sparkling white wine, chilled

Combine first 3 ingredients in a microwave safe dish. Microwave for about 2 1/2 minutes; stir until sugar dissolves. Let sit 10 minutes; discard rosemary. Chill.

Combine sugar mixture, juice, vodka, and sparkling wine, stirring gently. Serve immediately.

Cheers!

22 comments:

Gen said...

I loove citrus-y chicken! Will definitely be trying this out soon!

The Blonde Duck said...

It looks delicious to me!

lee said...

I bought some Meyer lemons recently not knowing what they were. Jason thought they were oranges!

KatiePerk said...

I saw this recipe and marked it. I was impressed with several recipes in this months mag. I am with you though it is hit or miss. I need to go to whole foods STAT. I couldn't find Meyers downtown. boo.
I want that cocktail now!

Green Dog Wine said...

YUM YUM YUM - all around YUM! :) I just read my new Cooking Light last night and totally eyed up this recipe! I can't decide if it was the lemons, that chicken piccata is my favorite - or that the recipe calls for Sauv Blan that made me fall in love with it! Beautiful recreation! :)

thehealthyapron said...

cooking light is def the best place to find lighter versions of your fav recipes and they actually TASTE like the heavier version. My fav makeover recipe they created was a lightened up fettuccine alfredo (a dish I stay away from unless I make this recipe) Seriously, try it!

Faith said...

Chicken piccata is definitely a favorite in my house! We love its bright, refreshing flavor...yours looks wonderful!

MegSmith @ Cooking.In.College said...

Oo yum, I love making piccata with tofu and my recipe for that came from cooking light too! Meyer lemons are so much better than normal ones!

Anonymous said...

I love chicken piccata...this recipe looks fantastic!

Beth @ DiningAndDishing said...

Looks delicious! I absolutely love lemon. It's such a crisp, fresh flavor - perfect for cocktails, food and of course, dessert! :)

MegSmith @ Cooking.In.College said...

P.S. I linked to you in my post today, you should check it out :-)

Yelena said...

Meyer lemons are so delicious right now. I can almost eat them whole because I find them so sweet.

Your cocktail also looks fabulous!

Holly said...

ummm meyer lemon chicken AND cocktails! COUNT ME IN!!!

Annie said...

oh i love lemons! this looks great!

fittingbackin said...

This looks wonderful! I too often find a love/hate relationship - i'm either all about the recipes or can't find ONE to try!

Renee Paj said...

oh boy...I just love, love, love piccata anything...I am a huge fan of capers!!! YUM!!! I bet with the meyer lemons....over the top!!!!!! wow!!! Wish i could get some meyer lemons locally here...maybe I need to request my grocer to carry them. last time I got them at Trader joes.

Simply Life said...

I always forget about that magazine -thanks for the reminder!

Lisa said...

That looks awesome! I'm always looking at meyer lemons...but have never bought them.

Stephanie in Suburbia said...

Yay! I am so glad you tried this b/c I was drooling over it in the magazine. I got the mag about 3 years ago, and like you, was ambivalent. But the last year has been AWESOME! I also get their e-mails, I highly recommend them. I also recommend MyRecipes.com. They have an under 400 calorie recipe newsletter, and the recipes are always BURSTING with flavor.

Megan D said...

I love chicken piccatta! And what a great cocktail idea... I like that it was rosemary in it!

CaSaundraLeigh said...

I have the same feelings about Cooking Light--it's definitely a love/hate kinda thing--but I agree, this month was a great issue & I actually had this dish bookmarked..yaaay!

Pound said...

my mouth is watering looking at that cocktail ;)