Confessions of a Sugar-Free Foodie

Uncle Buddy’s Piccata

August 25, 2013 at 7:37 pm Leave a comment

My Uncle Buddy (Wayne) makes the absolute best Chicken Piccata. It truly is restaurant quality. My favorite Piccata from a restaurant is Salmon Piccata from Maggiano’s. Living in Albany, Georgia doesn’t afford me the luxury of popping over to Maggiano’s whenever I’m needing a fix. And Uncle Buddy was living in Florida and is now in Chicago, so he’s not an option either. I’ve tried several online recipes and none ever hit the mark.

So during my last trip to Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky, Mom and Uncle Buddy were over at my sister’s visiting from out of town and I asked Buddy to make Piccata so I could get a fix before I went home the next morning. He indulged me. I watched closely as he whipped through the recipe he uses from Food.com. As I watched intently I realized he did a few things the recipe didn’t call for. He poured the caper juice into the lemon juice and then he lightly diced the capers. I suspect this gives the Piccata an extra kick of flavor before you actually bite into a caper. The other important part is keeping the “yum-yum” from the chicken pan. Brooklynn and I call the browned flour crust left at the bottom of the pan when browning meat “yum-yum”.

Brooklynn and I went home after our Cincy trip and attempted Piccata the very next weekend. And what do you know, it turned out exactly like Uncle Buddy’s. I’m proud and excited to share the recipe here for my family, friends, and very few internet followers. It’s quick easy, not a ton of prep work, and absolutely delicious. We serve it over Basmati rice pilaf sauteed in butter before cooking. By the way, the ONLY white rice I cook in my house is Basmati. If you still use regular white rice you are missing out on the best tasting starch God created.

Here’s the Chicken Piccata recipe as posted on the internet: Frugal Gourmet’s Chicken Piccata

Thank you Uncle Buddy and Enjoy.

Frugal Gourmet’s Chicken Piccata

Ingredients:
1 small yellow onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, crushed
4 scallions, chopped
2 tablespoons olive oil
8 chicken breasts
1/2 cup flour
salt and pepper
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons dry sherry
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 tablespoon capers, chopped
2 tablespoons chicken stock (optional)

Directions:
Saute onions, garlic and scallions in olive oil until tender. Remove from pan and set aside.
Remove skins and bones from chicken and pound flat. Mix flour, salt and pepper and place in a flat bowl. Dip chicken pieces into flour and lightly brown them in butter, 2-3 minutes per side.
Add sauteed onions and garlic. Over high heat, add sherry, lemon juice and capers. This should thicken to make a nice gravy for the chicken. If gravy becomes too thick, add some chicken stock.

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