Chicken Piccata Party!

By now, y'all know I love me a good dinner party with my friends.  Sadly, they aren't often hosted at my house because, well... I live alone.  And I only have three chairs.  I also only have three red wine glasses, three large spoons, and three tv tables.  Where are the fourth of all of these things??? We will never know. 

But last night, I got to host the party!  It was great, because I got to use my new table for the first time, and I got to show my friends the new decorations I put up in my house earlier this week! 

Three of my good friends (new-ish friends!) came over and we had a meal I prepared with a little help from Grandmama. 

I made chicken piccata as the main dish (based off this recipe) served with a side of butternut squash soup courtesy of Grandmama herself and a salad I put together.  This time, my meal actually matched!

I have no idea how Grandmama made this soup, but it was so delicious!  I was thankful to have friends to share it with, because she sent me home with a giant tub of it and after dinner for four people last night, I still have leftovers! 

The salad I made included butter lettuce, spinach, soft boiled eggs, tomatoes, shredded parmesan cheese, and chilled sweet king corn from south Georgia.  It was delicious!  I had mine with Raspberry dressing, but some of the other girls opted for italian, honey mustard, or oil & balsamic vinegar.  It was the perfect side salad!

This chicken piccata really stole the show.  The first time I had this dish, the boyman's mom made it for us for dinner one night.  It was absolutely delicious.  I love chicken, especially with lemon sauces, and this particular dish really hit the nail on the head as far as flavor and texture go. 

As I said earlier, I used the basic ingredients from this recipe, but adapted it a bit to fit what I had in the house and also to better suit my tastes.

Here is what I did:

Ingredients:
1lb raw chicken tenders
1/3 cup flour
3 tbsp parmesean cheese
2 tsp salt
2 tsp pepper
4 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp butter
2 lemons, juiced
1/2 cup chicken stock
1/4 cup drained capers

Heat your olive oil and butter in a frying pan on medium heat.  Combine the flour, salt, pepper, and parmesean cheese in a bowl.  Dredge your chicken tenders in the dry mixture and place in the warmed frying pan. 

Allow the tenders to cook for 3-5 minutes before flipping them.  They should be golden brown.  If not, just allow them to cook for 3-5 minutes on the new side before flipping again.  Cook the tenders until they reach a golden brown color.  This should take no longer than 15 minutes at the most.  Should be closer to ten total.

Once the tenders are fully cooked, remove them from the pan.  Cover with aluminum foil to keep them warm.  Then, add the chicken stock, lemon juice, and capers to the pan.  Use a spatula to scrape up all the browned bits from the chicken into the sauce.  Simmer on medium-low heat for about three to five minutes, or until the sauce is reduced by approximately half.  It should thicken up and be more of a sauce than a liquid.  That is how you will know it is ready.

Pour the sauce over the chicken pieces and serve hot!  Enjoy!!