Chicken Picatta – Abigail Sharpe

In Who Wants to Marry a Cowboy, eight woman participate in a marital rodeo with the cowboy as the unwilling first prize.  The "rodeo" involves showing off cooking skills, so I had the heroine and her nemesis cook the one impressive recipe in my repertoire:  Chicken Picatta.  (And there are no strong onions in it, regardless of what the nemesis would have you believe.)

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Serves 2

Ingredients

• 2 6- to 8-ounce skinless boneless chicken breast halves
• 1/4 cup fresh parsley leaves
• 3 teaspoons olive oil, divided
• 1 1/2 teaspoons and 2 tablespoons minced shallot
• 1/2 teaspoon and 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• 4 1/2 teaspoons drained capers, divided
• 1 teaspoon minced garlic
• 1/3 cup dry white wine
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1 1/2 teaspoons minced fresh parsley

What to Do:

• Put the chicken in a large storage bag and pound it down until it's less than half an inch thick.  I don't own a meat mallet, so I use a soup can.
• In a small bowl, toss in the parsley with 1.5 t oil, 1.5 t shallots, .5 t lemon juice, and 1.5 t capers. 

• Spray non-stick spray in a heavy large nonstick skillet over high heat. Add the chicken to skillet and sauté until just cooked through and golden brown, about 3 minutes per side. Transfer to platter and cover with foil to keep warm.

• Reduce heat to medium-high. Add remaining shallots and garlic to same skillet and sauté until tender, about 1 minute.

• Add wine and remaining 2 tablespoons lemon juice and simmer 1 minute.

• Whisk in remaining 3 teaspoons capers, butter, and minced parsley. Stir any juices from chicken into sauce and season to taste with salt and pepper. Pour sauce over chicken and sprinkle chicken with parsley-caper mixture.

SOMETHING BORROWED, SOMEONE NEW . . .

There's nothing florist Ainsley Fairfax won't do to help her sister get the love of her life-even if it means taking her place on a bachelorette weekend at a Wyoming ranch so Cecelia can sail off with the man of her dreams. Ainsley is determined to spend the time keeping her head down and her heart safely tucked away-until an encounter with the ranch's hunky owner gets her heart-and steamy desires-to bloom . . .

Riley Pommer doesn't want to be lassoed into any relationship. But with the family ranch in dire straits, Riley knows his sisters' crazy plan to turn the ranch into the setting for a dating competition-and using him as the bait-is the only thing standing between them and foreclosure. But the rules of the game change the instant Riley lays eyes on the spirited Ainsley. Now, as others try to stampede over their love, can Riley prove to Ainsley that true love is a prize worth fighting for?

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www.abigailsharpe.com