Pinterest and Piccata

Okay, I will admit, I am a Pinterest addict. For anyone under a rock, Pinterest is an online pinboard. Huh, you say? I will confess that when I first heard about Pinterest, I was a little skeptical. I mean, how interesting could that be?? Well,  folks, you see I love to cook, I love photography, occasionally I feel crafty, and I love all things about decorating. Well, Holy Moley, I found a slice of Heaven. Pinterest has categories dedicated to EACH one of those things. I got lost online for hours during naptime, after bed, etc when I first found the site. Now, I check it periodically to see if any yummy recipes have popped up that I might like to try or if there are any new crafts that I have deemed doable to pin.

There are things on there that I don't, for the life of me, understand. Please know that I am not knocking a soul on there or poking fun at anyone when I say this. I cannot understand the celebrity board or humor boards. I read the cute sayings and smile, but I don't ever look at them again. Maybe the people who actually have a board dedicated to them do. Then there are the celebrity boards. Don't get those either. Yes, I know that previous sentence lacks a subject - what's it to ya? Trust me when I tell you that I am up on my celebrity gossip. I check TMZ daily - sad, I know. However, you learn some juicy things on there. However, I don't see the point of pinning random things. If anyone has these boards, please explain them to me.

With that said, I do have multiple boards dedicated to cooking. I try to go back and edit if I have cooked a recipe that turned out to be awful and delete that pin. This chicken piccata is something that I pinned a while back, and it is now in the regular rotation. The recipe is from Giada de Laurentis. Does anyone else think she is shady besides me? No one that skinny really likes to eat, and her toothy weird smile frightens me a little. BUT, her chicken piccata is tasty, and I will share the recipe. I am also proud of my photo of my piccata. The hubs was laughing as I carried around this platter to find just the right light to photograph this :)

Chicken Piccata:
2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, butterflied then halved (I used thinly sliced chicken breasts)
salt and pepper
All purpose flour for dredging
6 tablespoons unsalted butter
5 tablespoons EVOO
1/3 cup fresh lemon juice
1/2 cup chicken stock
1/4 cup brined capers, rinsed (I used more because I heart capers)
*The recipe also calls for parsley, but that is the one thing on Earth that I just cannot stomach - ugh...

Season chicken with salt and pepper and dredge in flour. In a large skillet, over medium high heat, melt 2 tablespoons butter and 3 tablespoons olive oil until sizzling. Add 2 pieces of chicken and cook for about 3 minutes per side. Remove and transfer to platter. Melt 2 more tablespoons of butter and 2 tablespoons oil and add other pieces of chicken. Cook for 3 minutes per side or until browned, as well. Remove chicken and add to platter. Add lemon juice, stock, and capers to pan. Bring to a boil, scraping browned bits from bottom of pan. Replace chicken to pan and simmer 5 minutes. Add remaining 2 tablespoons of butter to pan and whisk. Serve over cooked pasta (I used angelhair pasta).

And here's a little Connor - just because...