A favorite dish in the Mulligan house is Chicken Piccata - lightly fried chicken cutlets, served with a lemony caper sauce. A cousin to this is Chicken Francese - this recipe has been around forever in our house - it's basically like the Piccata, but with the opposite order of "dredging", and no capers. The result is a very easy dish to prepare, and very moist chicken cutlets with a bright and yummy lemon sauce. I served this one with Minted Quinoa - a great vehicle for extra sauce absorption! Yummers!
Set up your dredging station: Set out two bowls. In the first bowl, whisk together 2 eggs and 2 tablespoons of milk, along with one teaspoon each of Kosher salt and black pepper. In another bowl, drop in one cup of flour.
Take 2 - 4 chicken breasts, and either pound them slightly or cut the long way to make thin cutlets. Take a large saucepan, and heat up over medium heat 1/2 cup of olive oil and 1/2 cup of vegetable oil.
Dredge each cutlet in the flour first, and then the egg mix. Drop in the heated oil, and heat for about four minutes on each side, until golden brown. Place the cooked cutlets onto a paper towel lined plate, and wipe out the pan.
Add a half stick of butter to the pan, and saute thinly sliced lemons for a few minutes until they start to brown on the rind. Remove from the plan.
Add to the pan another 1/2 stick of butter, 1/2 cup white wine, and juice of one lemon. Bring to a boil, and let cook for about 4 minutes until thickened up slightly. Add in 1 1/2 cups chicken broth, and bring to a boil, and let cook for about 5 minutes. It should slightly thicken into a nice sauce. Season with a pinch of salt and pepper. Turn down the heat, and add your cutlets to the sauce. Let cook for about 4 more minutes, and turn the cutlets over during this process to ensure they are fully covered in the sauce.
I also made quinoa: Add to a pot 1 cup quinoa, 1 cup water and 1 cup broth. Boil, then cover and simmer for 15 minutes. Stir in a handful of finely chopped mint. On your platter, start with the quinoa - cover with the cutlets, the lemon slices, pour more sauce from the pan, and sprinkle chopped parsley on top. Chicken Francese!