Infrared Grill

Chicken picatta: I think it’s Italian (may be French, but picatta sounds more Italian)

http://cookingforeal.wordpress.com/2010/04/09/chicken-picatta/

There are so many ways to prepare a chicken breast…. there’s no "BEST" recipe.

Make either Chicken Parmesan or Chicken Piccata or Chicken Marsala.

OR, you can cut it up into bite sized, 1 inch pieces. Lightly pan fry in 1 tbsp olive oil and 1 tbsp butter until golden brown. Remove from the pan and set aside. Add 1/2 of a diced white or yellow onion, or 3 shallots diced. Cook for 8-10 minutes on medium high heat and add 2 cloves of minced garlic and cook on low heat for 3 minutes. Then add 1 cup of a dry white wine, 1 cup of chicken broth and reduce by half.

Last, add a jar or alfredo sauce and 1 cup of frozen peas, or with fresh asparagus… or you can make your own alfredo sauce by adding cream and a lot of grated parmesan cheese.

Hi, Nicole! this is the Chicken Parmesan recipe, hope you like it.
Ingredients
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon chopped fresh rosemary leaves
1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme leaves
1 teaspoon chopped fresh Italian parsley leaves
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
8 (3-ounces each) chicken cutlets
1 1/2 cups Simple Tomato Sauce, recipe follows or purchased marinara sauce
1/2 cup shredded mozzarella
16 teaspoons grated Parmesan
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into pieces
Directions
Preheat the oven to 500 degrees F.

Stir the oil and herbs in a small bowl to blend. Season with salt and pepper. Brush both sides of the cutlets with the herb oil. Heat a heavy large oven-proof skillet over high heat. Add the cutlets and cook just until brown, about 2 minutes per side. Remove the skillet from the heat.

Spoon the marinara sauce over and around the cutlets. Sprinkle 1 teaspoon of mozzarella over each cutlet, then sprinkle 2 teaspoons of Parmesan over each. Sprinkle the butter pieces atop the cutlets. Bake until the cheese melts and the chicken is cooked through, about 3 to 5 minutes.

Simple Tomato Sauce:
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 small onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 stalk celery, chopped
1 carrot, chopped
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 (32-ounce) cans crushed tomatoes
4 to 6 basil leaves
2 dried bay leaves
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, optional
In a large casserole pot, heat oil over medium high heat. Add onion and garlic and saute until soft and translucent, about 2 minutes. Add celery and carrots and season with salt and pepper. Saute until all the vegetables are soft, about 5 minutes. Add tomatoes, basil, and bay leaves and simmer covered on low heat for 1 hour or until thick. Remove bay leaves and check for seasoning. If sauce still tastes acidic, add unsalted butter, 1 tablespoon at a time to round out the flavors.

Add half the tomato sauce into the bowl of a food processor. Process until smooth. Continue with remaining tomato sauce.

If not using all the sauce, allow it to cool completely and pour 1 to 2 cup portions into freezer plastic bags. This will freeze up to 6 months.