Happy Birthday, Dad!

My parents came to visit all the way from California! The second day they were here, we saw the Lincoln Memorial, Washington Monument, and did a TON of walking (they thought I was trying to kill them). The second day also happened to be my dad's birthday! So, my mom and I planned a meal with his approval of chicken piccata, cous cous, and asparagus. This is a meal that my mom and I made on one of our trips to the cabin together, and I've been making it ever since! This is Giada de Laurentis' recipe for "Chicken Piccata" from her Everyday Italian cook book paired with boxed cous cous and my mom's recipe for roasted asparagus.

Ingredients:
4 skinless, boneless chicken breasts, halved crosswise (we bought thin cutlets to save work)
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
All-purpose flour for dredging
4 tbsp unsalted butter
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1/2 cup reduced-sodium chicken broth (we used a dry white wine instead, a chardonnay or pinot grigio would be nice)
1/3 cup fresh lemon juice (from about 2 lemons)
1/4 cup drained capers, rinsed
2 tbsp chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

1 box of ready to make cous cous (your favorite Near East brand, for example)

1 lb asparagus
1 lemon, thinly sliced
salt and pepper
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

Prepare:
Preheat the oven to 400. Cut off the ends of the asparagus; they can get woody. Peel below the spears if you want. Lay the asparagus on a cookie sheet, drizzle with the oil and season with salt and pepper. Toss it all together and then rearrange so they are flat. Lay the lemon slices over the asparagus. Place the asparagus in the oven and roast for 10-15 minutes depending on how thick the spears are and how tender you like your asparagus.

Start the boiling for the cous cous according to the box.

Halve the breasts if you didn't buy cutlets.

Cook:
As soon as the water for the cous cous is boiling, throw in the cous cous, cover and let sit.

Sprinkle the chicken with the salt and pepper. Dredge the chicken in the flour to coat lightly (put flour in a shallow dish and coat lightly with flour). In a large saute pan, melt 2 tbsp of the butter with the 2 tbsp of oil over medium-high heat. Add the chicken and cook just until brown, about 3 minutes per side. Using tongs, transfer the chicken to a plate.

Add the broth (wine), lemon juice, and capers to the same pan. Bring the broth mixture to a boil over medium-high heat, scraping up the brown bits from the bottom of the pan for extra flavor (this is also called deglazing the pan). Return the chicken to the pan and simmer until just cooked through, about 5 minutes. Using tongs, transfer the chicken to a platter. Whisk the remaining 2 tbsp of butter into the sauce. Pour the sauce over the chicken, garnish with the parsley, and serve.

Fluff the cous cous and scoop into a serving bowl. Place the asparagus into a serving bowl.

Serves 4.

So good!!!