Chicken Piccata

I think this was the first time I actually liked chicken piccata.  I've tasted it in restaurants before, but I always thought it had too much wine, lemon, or caper flavor.  This chicken piccata is just right.  It has juicy, tender chicken swimming in a light, lemon-wine-butter sauce.  This is the perfect dish for the summer, and looks very impressive...not to mention incredibly easy to prepare!  I recommend serving it over rice or pasta, but it's so good any way you wanna have it.  It's also super yummy to dip some garlic bread or roasted potatoes in the tasty lemon sauce.  I would tell you how it tastes the next day after sitting in the sauce over night, but there weren't any leftovers (and I doubled the recipe).

Yield: about three servings

Ingredients:

• 3 large skinless, boneless chicken breast halves, pounded thin
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 cup low sodium chicken broth
• 1/4 cup white wine
• 1/2 lemon, thinly sliced
• 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
• 2 tablespoons capers
• 3 tablespoons butter
• 2 tablespoons minced Italian (flat-leaf) parsley

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 200 degrees F (95 degrees C). Place a serving platter into the oven to warm.
2. Season the chicken breast pieces with salt and pepper and dredge them in flour. Shake off excess flour. Heat the olive oil and butter in a skillet; pan-fry the chicken pieces until golden brown on both sides, about 3 minutes per side. Work in batches and do not crowd skillet, adding oil as needed . Place the chicken pieces onto the warmed platter in the oven. When finished with all the chicken, drain most of the oil from the skillet, leaving a thin coating on the surface of the pan.
3. Cook and stir the minced garlic in the skillet until fragrant, about 20 seconds. Pour in the chicken broth and white wine. Scrape and dissolve any brown bits from the bottom of the skillet. Stir in the lemon slices and bring the mixture to a boil. Let cook, stirring occasionally, until the sauce reduces to about 2/3 cup, 5 to 8 minutes.  Remove lemon slices and discard. Add the lemon juice and capers; simmer until the sauce is reduced and slightly thickened, about 5 minutes more. Drop the butter into the skillet and swirl it into the sauce by tilting the skillet until the butter is melted and incorporated. Add the parsley; remove from heat and set aside.
4. Arrange the chicken medallions on serving plates and spoon sauce over each portion to serve.

Tapenade Turkey Meatballs

When I was at the state fair last year, I picked up some recipe cards from The Pampered Chef, and this was one of them (you can view the video here). These are the best meatballs I've ever had!! They're packed with so much flavor, yet much easier to whip up than you think.  My mom and I made this together last night and served it over pasta.  It was absolutely incredible. And get this: they're made in the microwave.  Yeah.  Because they're cooked in the microwave, they only cook for 7 minutes!!  Usually meatballs are cooked in the oven for like 30-45 minutes; these are way less time consuming.  I can't believe how tender and juicy the meat was, and it was lean turkey, too.  I now like turkey meatballs better than beef ones.  Way better.  I don't think I'm gonna even like beef meat balls the next time I have them.  And the Spinach & Olive Tapenade in this recipe - SO flavorful!  I don't like olives, and I'm not a big fan of capers, so I didn't think I'd care for this recipe too much.  But the olive and caper flavors blended really well with all the other ingredients, so it tasted amazing.  I served the remaining tapenade on sliced french bread and melted some cheese on top.  I also had it as a dip with red pepper slices - so delicious.  Another thing my family did with some of the meatballs was make a meatball sandwich.  Ohmygoodness everything was just so good!!  My dad said we're never going out to eat again because everything I make is ten times better than anything he's ever had in a restaurant.

Yield: About 20 meatballs

Ingredients:

Spinach & Olive Tapenade:

1 package (6 oz/175 g) fresh spinach leaves (about 8 cups/2 L)

2 garlic cloves, peeled

2 tablespoons drained capers

1/4 medium red bell pepper, cut into 1-in pieces

3/4 cup (175 mL) pitted green olives

1/4 cup (50 mL) loosely packed fresh basil leaves

1 oz Parmesan cheese, grated

1/4 cup olive oil

1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

1/4 teaspoon salt

Meatballs:

1 slice soft sandwich bread (whole wheat or white)

1 cup prepared Spinach & Olive Tapenade (see above), divided

1 egg

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 lb (450 g) 93% lean ground turkey

Instructions:

1.  For tapenade, place spinach into a large bowl.  Microwave on high 2-3 minutes or until spinach is wilted.  Carefully remove lid; press spinach to side of bowl (I just drained it in a colander).  Blot excess moisture with paper towels.  Place garlic, capers, bell pepper, and olives in food processor; cover and pump handle until coarsely chopped.  Add spinach, basil, cheese, oil, lemon juice and salt; process to desired consistency, removing lid and scraping down sides of bowl as necessary.  Use 1 cup for meatballs.  Set aside remaining tapenade for another use.

2.  For meatballs, tear bread; place in food processor.  Cover and pump handle until finely chopped.  Combine bread crumbs, 1/2 cup of the remaining tapenade, egg, and salt in a medium bowl; mix well.  Add turkey, mix well.

3.  Using slightly mounded medium scoop (I used an ice cream scooper), scoop 20 meatballs directly into a pan in rows.  Cover with parchment paper and microwave on high 7-9 minutes or until internal temperature of meatballs reaches 160 degrees F (71 degrees C)

4. Place remaining 1/2 cup tapenade in large bowl.  Transfer meatballs to bowl using tongs and toss gently to coat.  Serve with pasta if desired.