Chicken Picatta

Want to know a secret I use to help with portion control?  This particular recipe involves chicken, but my little secret also works well with pork chops or even steaks.  And although I have mentioned it before on this blog, I only devoted a few sentences to it, so it is worth mentioning again.    Whenever possible, I slice my chicken breasts in half horizontally, like this:

The end result:  Two roughly equal-sized pieces of meat.  One serving of meat has become two.  Yes, they are thinner servings, but because the cut still looks (from the top) like it’s the same sized piece of meat, your brain is fooled into thinking you’re eating the same quantity of meat even though you’ve reduced the size by 50%.  Sometimes, if I’m feeling particularly hungry and one cutlet just isn’t going to be enough, I’ll make both halves and have “seconds” (which still really isn’t overeating).  Or, I’ll just add some pasta or a salad to the menu to help fill me up.  Slicing the meat in half is also a great way to stretch your food dollar – you’ll get twice as many servings out of one package of chicken breasts.

This recipe is another super easy one to make.  It is delicious served with a bit of buttered noodles, something that is a rather neutral (but still delicious) side dish.  (The acidity in a tomato sauce would compete with the lemons, and a cream sauce would be too heavy and would mask the bright flavor of the Piccata sauce.  The buttery noodles complement rather than compete with the lemon-caper flavor.)

You can substitute veal for the chicken, if you like.  A veal cutlet might take slightly less time to cook than a chicken cutlet (and neither option takes particularly long to cook because both are very thin) so be prepared to pull it out of the pan pretty quickly.  There are no other changes to the recipe ingredients or preparation, so its easy to make the substitution.

When choosing a wine to use for this dish, pick something you’d drink (NOT a grocery store “cooking wine”).  Choose something dry, and not particularly sweet, because the sweet flavor will be further concentrated during the cooking process.  I usually use pinot grigio because that’s usually what I keep in the house, but you could also use a sauvignon blanc or any other dry white wine.  Plan to serve the remainder of the bottle with dinner, then you’re not opening a huge bottle of wine for one small recipe quantity.

The recipe has one ingredient in it that you may or may not be familiar with:  capers.  My grocery store usually stocks these in the same aisle as the pickles, olives, mustard, and other condiments.  Capers look like this:

…and you should not omit them from this dish.  I know they seem unusual if you’ve never had them, but give them a shot because they are necessary to produce the proper flavor for the sauce (otherwise its not “piccata,” its just a lemon and butter sauce).  Capers will keep in your refrigerator for a very long time, so don’t worry about them going bad before you can use them up.  Before you add them to the dish, capers should be rinsed under cool water because they are packed in a salty brine.  I put the necessary quantity in a little sieve and run them under the tap for a few seconds.

Chicken Piccata

Serves 4

salt & pepper

4 thin, boneless, skinless chicken breast cutlets (cut from two breast halves, see the photo above)

2 Tbsp olive oil

2 Tbsp capers, rinsed & drained

1-1/2 cups dry white wine

juice of two smallish lemons

2 Tbsp butter

1/4 cup unwhipped heavy cream (not coffee creamer), or you can use half-and-half if you're out

Sprinkle salt and pepper over the surface of the chicken cutlets.  In a deep skillet, over medium-high heat, sauté the cutlets in the olive oil, turning once, until they are lightly browned on both sides and the chicken is just barely cooked through.  (Don’t overcook the chicken - err on the side of slightly less done because later we’ll return the chicken to the pan to reheat it.)  Remove the chicken and set it aside.  Reduce the heat under the pan to medium.

(Anyone who says you cannot brown in a nonstick pan hasn't tried these nonstick pans.  They're awesome.  Love my Anolon Advanced cookware.)

While the chicken is cooking, place your capers in a small sieve and rinse them under cool running water.  Drain them, then give them a rough chop.  Set the chopped capers aside for later.

Add the wine and lemon juice to the same skillet, stirring to scrape up any browned bits.  It will probably be bubbly and noisy when you add the liquid – keep stirring the pan!  Cook the liquid for several minutes over medium heat until it has reduced by about half.  

Reduce the heat to low.  Add the butter, rinsed capers, and the cream or half-and-half. Stir to incorporate the ingredients and melt the butter. Once the dairy products have been added to the pan, take care to avoid allowing it to boil (you may need to reduce the heat further).

Return the cooked chicken to the pan and heat it through, just long enough to bring the chicken back up to the proper serving temperature.

Printable PDF file (with pictures)

Printable PDF file (recipe text only)

Chinese Potsticker Dumplings - The Daring Cooks June Challenge

I first learned how to make Chinese dumplings during a college-sponsored trip to China nearly ten years ago. I participated in a study abroad program and spent the better part of a summer travelling around China with 12 classmates and two teachers. It was a great experience – one of our teachers was born in rural China so he took us to all of the places he used to go to as a child and young adult. Thus, it was a better experience than what I imagine most tourists’ visits might be like – less emphasis on the commercialized tourist-oriented sites and more emphasis on actually learning about Chinese culture. We stayed in our host college’s dormitories and our daily activities were more like those of a Chinese college student’s rather than those of an American tourist.

One day our Chinese friends taught us how to make dumplings – we were taught that the Mandarin Chinese word was jiao tze. We watched as they expertly rolled out each dumpling skin into a perfect circle (our attempts were not nearly as beautiful nor as efficiently done!). They filled their dumplings with a pork and cabbage mixture, and in the blink of an eye, pleated each dumpling into a perfectly ridged half-moon shape. They also demonstrated a different shape of dumpling – I don’t remember what the Mandarin word to describe them was, but the English translation was Beggar’s Purses, and they painstakingly tied thin threads of Chinese scallions around the tops of each dumpling. Beautiful – but not something I’d want to do for a weeknight supper! The dumplings were all placed in a bamboo steamer to gently steam the dumplings.

After returning to the US, I searched for and found a recipe that was fairly close to what I remembered eating in China, and have been making steamed dumplings on a regular basis ever since then.

I was excited when I learned that the Daring Cooks June Challenge was Chinese dumplings and potstickers, hosted by Jen from use real butter. Since I have never made potstickers, I decided to try making them instead of following my usual method of steaming the dumplings. Their crispy bottoms are a delicious contrast from the soft texture of the rest of the dumpling wrapper.

I actually made steamed dumplings about a week prior to the announcement of June’s challenge recipe, but I did not make homemade dumpling wrappers. The only stipulation of this month’s challenge recipe was that we make our own homemade dumpling wrappers. Therefore, my previous effort would not “count” towards fulfilling the Daring Cook’s challenge. However, I have included a few photos from that endeavor because they illustrate steaming the dumplings, and the method is the same regardless of the type of dumpling skin used.

You could use storebought wrappers – again, the method is the same, except you will require a small amount of water as “glue” – dab it on the edges of the skins before you start to fold the wrappers. But I encourage you to give the homemade wrappers a shot – they taste much better!

Dumpling Wrappers
Yields 25-50 dumplings, depending on how large you make each wrapper
4 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup warm water (as hot as your tap will go)
Flour for work surface

Note: Depending on how large your food processor is, you might need to mix this in two batches. A Kitchen Aid 12 cup processor can do it in one batch. Use your judgement based on that... Place the flour in the work bowl of a food processor with the dough blade. Run the processor and pour the warm water in until incorporated. Knead the dough with the food processor for several minutes until the dough travels around the bowl with the blade. (You may need to add additional flour or water to achieve the proper results.) The dough should be firm and silky to the touch and not sticky. [Note: it’s better to have a moist dough and have to incorporate more flour than to have a dry and pilling dough and have to incorporate more water).

Cover the dough with a damp towel for 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, make your filling. I have provided you with two choices – each option makes enough to fill one batch of dumpling wrappers.

Pork and Cabbage Filling
1/2 lb napa cabbage
3/4 lb unseasoned coarsely ground pork
1 Tbsp finely minced ginger
1/4 cup coarsely chopped green and white scallions
1 Tbsp soy sauce
1 Tbsp Chinese rice wine or dry sherry
1 Tbsp sesame oil
1 tsp coarse kosher salt
1/4 tsp ground black pepper

Chop the cabbage until it is pea-sized. Place in a large bowl. Add the ground pork and sprinkle the remaining ingredients on top. Stir until well blended – but don’t overstir it and create mush.

Veal, Fire-Roasted Corn, and Red Pepper Filling
2 ears corn – do not shuck – leave the husks on!
2 red bell peppers
6-8 large shitake mushroom caps
1 lb ground veal
3 cloves garlic, pressed
1 Tbsp ginger, minced
3 ounces spinach, finely chopped
4 tsp soy sauce
1/4 tsp coarse kosher salt
1/4 tsp ground black pepper
1 Tbsp sesame oil
1 Tbsp Chinese rice wine or dry sherry
2 tsp brown sugar

Preheat your grill to obtain medium-high heat. Run the corn – husks and all – under cool water. Grill, turning as necessary, until the husks have blackened and the corn is tender, about 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, quarter the bell peppers. Discard the seeds and ribs. Grill until the skin is blackened and the peppers are tender, 5-8 minutes.




During the last five minutes of grilling time, grill the shitake mushroom caps on the coolest part of the grill until they are tender, about 5 minutes.

Allow the grilled vegetables to cool slightly. Pull the husks and silks back off of the corn – but do not remove the husks from the corncob. Carefully cut the corn kernels off of the corn cobs. The easiest way to do this is to cut off the last inch of the tip of the corncob opposite of the stalk, creating a flat end. Place the end flat on your cutting board and use a large, sharp knife to carefully cut straight down the cob, using the husks/stalk as a handle. CUT CAREFULLY! Place the corn kernels in a large bowl.




Carefully use your fingertips or a knife to remove the skins from the red peppers. Roughly chop the peppers and the mushrooms, and add them to the corn. Add the remaining filling ingredients and stir to combine. Don’t overstir or you’ll end up with mush.



A note for vegetarians: I think this filling recipe would be a great starting point to create a meatless dumpling. I'd suggest increasing the mushroom quantity and possibly adding some firm tofu (panfried before finely dicing for a little added flavor?)


To roll out the wrappers and fill the dough:

Take the dough and form a flattened dome. Cut into strips about 1 1/2 to 2 inches wide. Shape the strips into rounded long cylinders. On a floured surface, cut the strips into either 1/2-ounce or 1-ounce pieces (larger dumplings are easier to make if you’re a dumpling newbie). The recipe will yield approximately 50 dumplings if you use a 1/2-ounce size, or approximately 25 dumplings if your wrappers weigh 1 ounce each. Keep the waiting dough underneath a cloth to prevent it from drying out.

To roll out the wrappers, knead a dough piece in your hands for a few minutes until it is smooth.




Press your palm down on each piece to form a flat circle. With a straight (not tapered) rolling pin, roll out a circular wrapper from each flat disc. (I recommend using a thick dowel rod, or in absence of that, even a round, unsharpened pencil will work as a rolling pin - that's what I used in my pictures. A larger, standard-sized pastry rolling pin is too bulky to use. Take care not to roll out the skins too thinly or the dumplings might break - about 1/16th inch.



Leave the centers slightly thicker than the edges. Your wrappers will be between three and four inches in diameter.




Place 1/2 ounce to 1 ounce of filling in the center of each wrapper (depending on the size of your wrapper).






There’s lots of different ways to pleat a dumpling. Here’s the way I was taught in China. Create the top of the dumpling by pinching the dough together at the top, leaving the sides open.




Make three or four pleats along one side of the dough by folding the dough up, one pleat at a time, and pressing it flat.








Work from the center of the dumpling out towards the right to complete one side, then return to the center and work out towards the left to create the other side of pleats.




One side of the dumpling should have pleats, the other side should remain flat – this gives the dumpling its crescent shape. The dumpling should rest upright on a flat bottom, with a crescent ridge of pleats pointing up.




This month’s Daring Cooks host, Jen, uses a very similar pleating method to mine – you might want to check her website out to see how she does it.

You could also create a beggar’s purse by pleating in a circular fashion around the entire circumference of the dough. Some of the filling should be visible out of the top. Press in slightly to create an area where you can later tie a thread of scallion around the dumpling. They kind of look like little volcanoes! (I’m sure I have not refined the technique nearly as well as my Chinese classmates, who showed me how to make these ten years ago, have!)




Place the shaped and filled dumplings on a nonstick surface, such as a piece of parchment paper, until you are ready to cook the dumplings. If you desire, you can freeze the dumplings at this point and cook them from frozen later.

Choose a cooking method:

To make potstickers:

In a large nonstick sauté pan with high sides and a lid, heat 2 Tbsp oil over medium-high heat, uncovered. Add the dumplings – do not let them touch. Let them cook uncovered for approximately 2 minutes – long enough to begin to brown the bottoms of the dumplings.




Add 1/2 cup of water (careful, the pan will spatter) and immediately put the lid on the pan. Cook covered until the water has boiled away, then uncover and reduce the heat to medium-low. Let the dumplings cook another 2 minutes and then remove them from the heat and serve with dipping sauce.

To make steamed dumplings:

Line a steamer. I usually use a piece of parchment paper with a few holes poked through it. You could also use a single layer of cabbage leaves. Place the dumplings in the steamer basket – don’t let them touch one another.




Place the steamer over boiling water and cover – let them steam for about six minutes. Serve with dipping sauce.

Dipping Sauce
1/4 cup soy sauce
2 Tbsp white vinegar or unseasoned Chinese rice vinegar
2 tsp sesame oil
1/2 tsp Asian chili sauce (or more to taste)
1 tsp white sugar
2 Tbsp thinly cut green and white scallion rings

Stir to combine all ingredients. Serve at room temperature.

Valentine's Dinner: Veal Marsala

To go along with our Valentine's Day Bittersweet Chocolate Mousse, we had a variation of Veal Marsala, served alongside some broccolini and a quick pasta with a sauce inspired by the classic Italian carbonara sauce. I didn’t use a recipe for the pasta sauce, since it was thrown together at the last minute with a few ingredients I had on hand: “hmmmm what could I put on this pasta?”

Carbonara pasta is basically pasta with a creamy sauce containing copious amounts of cheese (typically Parmesan Reggio), eggs, and Italian ham. It’s a very luscious, delicious, rich dish – but since my meal wasn’t focusing on the pasta, and since Carbonara isn't exactly health food, I felt it was acceptable to scale it back in fat content (I used homemade chicken stock in lieu of some of the dairy, and used a smaller quantity of half-and-half instead of the full quantity of cream.). Yeah, it wasn’t quite as rich and delicious as normal, but nor was it quite as sinful either. It was still a very tasty side dish for our meal. I snapped a couple of pictures of the uncooked pasta and the pancetta to pique your interest:



The Marsala recipe came from Make It Italian, by Nancy Verde Barr. It could easily be made with chicken or turkey cutlets pounded thin. The recipe below reflects my changes from the original recipe.

Veal Marsala
Serves 4

About 1 pound veal scaloppine, pounded to ¼-inch thick, cut into manageable sizes
1 cup flour
Salt and pepper
1 egg, lightly beaten with a few tablespoons of water
1 ½ cups fresh bread crumbs
Several tablespoons of olive oil, for pan-frying
2/3 cup dry Marsala wine
2 Tbsp unsalted butter

Thoroughly dry the veal with paper towels. In a small bowl, season the flour generously with salt and pepper. Prepare a little assembly line: one bowl of the seasoned flour, one bowl of the beaten egg mixture, and one bowl of bread crumbs.





Dip the veal into the flour, being careful to coat the piece entirely. Pat the meat to remove any excess flour, then dip it into the egg mixture, coating the piece entirely. Allow the excess egg to drip off of the meat, then transfer the veal to the bread crumbs, using your fingers to pat the crumbs onto the meat.

Heat the olive oil in a large frying pan over medium-high heat. Add the coated meat pieces and cook until barely they are nicely browned, but barely done. (Depending on the thickness of your meat, it might be as little as 1-2 minutes on each side.) Be cautious as you are turning the pieces, as the coating is delicate and may start to fall off. Remove the meat from the pan; set aside.





Add the Marsala and butter to the pan, stirring to scrape up any browned bits. Allow it to boil aggressively for a few minutes. Return the meat to the pan, warming it through. Serve immediately.