Chicken Piccata and Blood on the Kitchen Floor

There I stood, in front of the bathroom mirror at work, with the scissors from my desk drawer, chopping at my bangs and knowing I should stop, but I couldn't.  It was one of THOSE days...it all started with cleaning blood off the kitchen floor.

I got up, velcro dog followed me downstairs, I patted his head, started the coffee, and went into the exercise/dish room and popped in a video.  I exercised for 45 minutes, went into the living room and made a fire, poured myself a cup of coffee, turned for the creamer and there was blood all over the floor.  Not the "someone just got murdered in my kitchen" kind of blood, but the "Someone hit a major vein and is going to need a lot of stitches" kind of blood.

After a quick check to make sure it wasn't me (I can never tell these days).

"Tucker, what the hell?" I call (he had just got his stitches out the day before and I figured he was really oozy).  I grabbed the cleaner, washed the kitchen floor, got an old towel and called him to make him lay down on it.  He came over and started to lay down and I went to give him a pat...AND SAW THE INSIDE OF HIS CHEST..the muscles covering his ribs, the bloody oozy stuff.  His incision site had popped open, the area hadn't healed and the stitches came out too early.  Crap.

"DAVE" I hollered as I headed up the stairs, but staying in sight of Tucker so he wouldn't climb and open the area any more.  "Get up, we have to take Tucker to the vet NOW."

I told him what happened, Dave jumped up, threw on some sweats, loaded the dog in the jeep and he was out the door before he even had a cup of coffee.

I got ready for work and when Dave got home with my jeep, I went to work.

The rest of the day was fine, almost...I got some work done, had lunch with a couple of friends, went shopping for work and back to the office to get a publication to the printer before they closed.  I was waiting on one school district.  I had emailed and reminded them, but now we were past the 1:00 deadline so I called them.  A call right back was promised and I said I had to be at the printer by 5:00...so I waited, and I waited, and I waited.

Then, those left-over donuts that were brought yesterday for our staff meeting started calling my name, LOUDLY.  Now, I didn't eat one when they were fresh, slightly warm, with the frosting a little soft and sticky from the warmth, no I waited until they sat out for two days and they were stale, hard and really not delicious...but I ate them anyway, as I stressed about the printing deadline and the afternoon slump set in (made worse by the adrenalin I produced in the morning after seeing my dog's insides). And I say 'they' because I didn't eat one; no, I ate two.  Even as I ate them and told myself they were not delicious, I could have a fresh warm one tomorrow or even on the way home tonight, I continued to eat one and then reach for the second one. I was a lost cause.

So, now I'm still waiting, hyped up on sugar and decide that is the perfect time to take my very dull scissors from my desk and trim my bangs since they had been hanging in my eyes all day and I was more than annoyed by then.  My office mate had gone home and I headed to the bathroom....um, yea.
It is a good thing hair grows.

Well, I needed a delicious treat so I made this for dinner.  It was warm, it was delicious, and it was healthier than those stale donuts.  At least dinner was a success.

Chicken Piccata

adapted from Barefoot Contessa

2 split boneless, skinless chicken breasts

kosher salt and ground black pepper

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

1 large egg

1/2 Tbsp. water

3/4 cup seasoned dry bread crumbs

olive oil

3 Tbsp. unsalted butter, divided

1/3 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice, (2 lemons)

1/2 cup dry white wine
1 Tbsp. chopped capers

Preheat oven to 400°F.

Line a sheet pan with parchment paper.
Mix flour, 1/2 tsp. salt, 1/4 tsp. pepper on a plate.  Mix egg and water in a shallow bowl.  Place breadcrumbs on another plate.

Pound chicken breasts into 1/2 to 1/4 even thickness.

Heat 1 Tbsp. olive oil in a sauté pan.  Dip chicken in flour, egg, then breadcrumbs and place in heated oil to brown on both sides.  Place on prepared sheet pan and bake in oven for 10-12 minutes, until cooked through.

For the sauce, wipe out the sauté pan with a paper towel.  Add 1 Tbsp. butter, lemon juice, capers, and wine to pan.  Let it reduce by half.  Season to taste with salt and pepper.  Add the remaining 2 Tbsp. of butter.

To serve, place one chicken breast on a plate, top with half the sauce.

2 servings

1 year ago:   Pumpkin Spelt Sourdough Bread and a Starving Friend
2 years ago:  Ultimate Decadent Brownies
3 years ago:  Apple, Bacon, and Onion Stuffed Pork Chops and My Pet Peaches


February 18, 2015  Sunrise 8:39 am  Sunset 5:32 pm  Temp. H 21/ L 1°F