New Kitchen, New Recipe

Well we are totally settled in and unpacked here in the Daukas house. Ok so not really, but close. I woke up this morning and had this strange feeling. Something I remembered having once about a year or so ago. Settled. Ah, so nice. Then I had another familiar feeling shortly after, exhausted. Yep, we've pretty much killed it this week and hosted our first Community Group for Grace Church last night. What a joy to have them all in our new home worshipping God and praying together!

One of the favorite places in my home, among many really, is the kitchen. It's big, spacious and lots of counter space (guard your hearts those of you with a small kitchen I was once there, like last week there). So standing in the kitchen this week I had a strong desire to cook and bake like never before! I walked down to the new library by our house and checked out a Barefoot Contessa cookbook. Lots of possibilities. Here's a keeper from last night:

Chicken Piccata
4 split boneless, skinless chicken breast
salt & freshly ground black pepper
1 C all-purpose flour
2 extra large eggs
1 ½ C seasoned dried bread crumbs
olive oil
3 T unsalted butter at room temerature
1/3 c freshly squeezed lemon juice (2 lemons)
½ C dry white wine
sliced lemon for serving
chopped fresh flat leaf parsley, for serving

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line a sheet pan with parchment paper.

Place each chicken breast between 2 sheets of parchment paper and pound it out to ¼ inch think. Sprinkle both sides with salt & pepper.

Mix the flour, 1 t salt and ½ t pepper on a shallow plate. In a second plate, beat the eggs and 1 T water together. Place the bread crumbs on a third plate. Dip each chicken breast first in the flour, shake off the excess, and then dip in the egg and bread-crumb mixtures.

Heat 2 T olive oil in a large sauté pan over medium to medium- low heat. Add 2 chicken breats and cook for 2 minutes on each side, until browned. Place them on the sheet pan while you cook the rest of the chicken. Heat more olive oil in the sauté pan and cook the second 2 chicken breasts. Place then on the same sheet pan and allow them to bake for 5-10 minutes while you make the sauce.

For the sauce, wipe out the sauté pan with a dry paper towel. On medium heat, melt 1 T of the butter and add the lemon juice, white wine, the reserved lemon halves, ½ teaspoon salt, and ¼ t pepper. Boil over high heat until reduced by half, about 2 minutes. Off the heat, add the remaining 2 T of butter and swirl to combine. Discard the lemon halves. Serve one chicken breast on each plate, spoon on the sauce, and serve with sliced lemon and a sprinkling of fresh parsley