Giada's Chicken Piccata

Grace and I made a Chicken Piccata in June of last year without a recipe after watching an episode of Diners, Drive Ins and Dives on the Food Network. It was good.

Last weekend, we wanted to make it again, but figured we'd find a real recipe. For anything that is an Italian staple like this, we go to our Giada de Laurentiis cookbooks as a first choice. This time we used the Chicken Piccata recipe on page 153 of her first book, Everyday Italian (Clarkson Potter, 2005).

The recipe couldn't be easier, and the result couldn't be better. The ingredient list is ridiculously short, and almost everything is a pantry staple. Chicken cutlets, salted and peppered, dredged in flour and sauteed in olive oil and butter. Sauce made from pan drippings, butter, chicken stock, capers and lemon juice. Flat leaf parsley to garnish.

Chicken Piccata (Giada de Laurentiis)

Ten minutes of prep, 20 minutes of cooking. Served with white rice, asparagus, and a nice unoaked California Chardonnay.

A 9.5 out of 10. Very high marks for low cost, minimal prep, ease of cooking, simple clean up, and most of all, great taste. Given that this is so easy as to be a good weeknight dish, and that the kids loved it, I can see this getting high rotation on the family meals menu.