Chicken Piccata a new way! and a great Caesar Salad

Chicken Piccata is a big favorite around here. Really big. So big that Miss Picky requests it and while this one won't replace our favorite, it was still a great dish! Really good! Needed more sauce, and I went too heavy on the herbs, but really good. Even when I forgot to add the chicken broth until the very last minute. Still good.  Reduced the sauce to almost nothing. Still good. The fresh parsley makes the bread crumb topping a little greenish, but looks aren't everything! I used thin-sliced chicken cutlets and layered them in the dish! Served with brown rice and sauteed tomatoes and zucchini. and a Caesar salad that was excellent! Definitely making that again. and soon!

Layered cutlets and because I used two packages, the ones underneath didn't get much topping! Still tasted good! The topping is the last step.

The salad is from a new cookbook, Frankie's Spuntino Kitchen Companion and Cooking Manual! The recipe was in the Serious Eats newsletter. Nothing like having a great recipe delivered right to you, rather than searching and searching and searching! This was definitely a keeper!  Even when I added ALL the water at the beginning and it was a little thin, STILL EXCELLENT! Next time I'll follow directions, yeah, that would be something, and drizzle the water in at the end just to thin it out, not drown it!  Even Grandma liked it, she must be getting used to hot sauce these days! Never once waved her hands that her mouth was on fire, and never once reached for the water! Hey, if you can't beat them, join them!  So I added a few extra dashes of the Tabasco, no complaints. Not even Miss Picky.

Piccata Chicken Gratin
Source: The Seattle Times Test Kitchen. Adapted from "Gratins: Savory and Sweet Recipes from Oven to Table" by Tina Salter.
Printable Recipe

1 lemon
6 skinless and boneless chicken thighs (I used thin-sliced chicken cutlets)
2 large cloves garlic, minced
3/4 teaspoon dried rosemary, crushed
2 teaspoons minced fresh thyme
2 tablespoons olive oil
Nonstick cooking spray or oil
1/3 cup chicken broth
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt or to taste
Freshly ground black pepper

Topping:
1/2 cup fresh breadcrumbs
1 tablespoon minced fresh parsley
2 teaspoons minced fresh thyme
1 tablespoon capers, drained (I omitted)
2 teaspoons lemon zest
2 tablespoons olive oil

Zest the lemon, mince 2 teaspoons and set aside. Juice the lemon and reserve 1 tablespoon. Put the chicken in a dish and sprinkle with garlic, rosemary and thyme. Whisk together lemon juice and 2 tablespoons olive oil. Pour over chicken, cover and marinate at room temperature 1 hour or refrigerate up to 24 hours.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly spray or oil a 9-by-13-inch baking dish. Place chicken in the dish, discard any leftover marinade and pour the chicken broth around the chicken. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Bake 20 minutes.

While chicken is baking, combine breadcrumbs, parsley, thyme, capers and lemon zest. Drizzle with olive oil and toss until the crumbs have absorbed the oil.

Remove baking dish from oven. Drain broth into a small saucepan. Spoon the topping evenly over the chicken and continue baking 15 minutes or until chicken is cooked through. If topping needs more browning, place under a hot broiler. Boil the reserved broth until reduced to about 3 tablespoons. Transfer chicken to plates and drizzle a little of the reduced broth around it. Serve immediately.

Frankie's Romaine Hearts with Caesar Salad Dressing
Source: Serious Eats Recipe Newsletter: June 16. Adapted from The Frankies Spuntino Kitchen Companion and Cooking Manual by Frank Falcinelli and Frank Castronovo.
Printable Recipe

3 hearts of romaine (pull away the floppiest, greenest outer leaves)
1/3 cup grated Pecorino Romano, plus additional cheese for serving (I used grated Parmegiano-Reggiano)
1/2 cup Hellmann's mayonnaise
1/4 cup water (more or less depending on how thick you want the dressing!)
1 1/2 teaspoons red wine vinegar
1 garlic clove
2 anchovy fillets (I used anchovy paste)
1/4 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1/4 teaspoon Tabasco
8 turns freshly ground white pepper
Fine sea salt, if needed
Freshly ground black pepper
Croutons (optional)

Trim the root ends from the romaine, separate the leaves, and wash and dry them. Put the lettuce in the fridge to chill while you prepare the dressing. (I cut the romaine in small pieces!)

Combine 1/4 cup of the Pecorino with the remaining ingredients (except the black pepper) in a blender (or food processor) and puree until the dressing is smooth. (If you don't have a blender, mince the garlic and anchovy, and whisk them together with the rest of the dressing ingredients.) Taste and add salt if necessary; the cheese, the Worcestershire, and the anchovies are all salty, so you probably won't need any additional salt. Loosen the dressing with water as needed starting with the prescribed 1/4 cup.

Toss the chilled lettuce with the dressing in a large bowl. Transfer to serving plates or a serving platter and finish with a generous sprinkling of the remaining grated cheese and a few turns of black pepper. and the croutons if you are using them!

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