Chicken Cutlets with Herb Butter

This recipe is from marthastewart.com and turned out to be fabulous!


Ingredients:
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
8 thin chicken cutlets (1.5 lb. total)
Coarse salt and ground pepper
2 tablespoons olive oil
3/4 cup dry white wine
2 tablespoons cold butter, cut into pieces
3 tablespoons finely chopped fresh parsley or mint (or a combination)

I actually made this with only two chicken cutlets. Instead of trying to divide all of the ingredients by four, it seemed much easier to divide them into thirds, so that's what I did. It still came out just fine!

Directions:
1. In a large skillet, heat 1 tablespoon oil over medium-high heat.
2. Place flour in a shallow dish. Season chicken with salt and pepper. Dredge in flour.
3. Working in batches, cook chicken until browned, about 1-3 minutes per side.

Now, I use All-Clad skillets, and when I got them, I was told to NEVER put the pan on heat above medium, as it causes the food to cook far too quickly and stick to the pan. I have found this to hold true, and so my cook time usually takes longer when a recipe calls for medium-high heat.

I forgot to take pictures from the beginning of the process (plus, my hands were germ-y from raw chicken), but this is what the chicken should look like after being dredged in flour (bottom piece) and after the first flip (top piece).

 Since I was cooking with medium heat, the chicken was taking a really long time to cook all the way through. As a result, I had to keep adding oil to the pan to keep the chicken from drying out. Just a tablespoon or so at a time did the trick. To check the internal temperature of any meat I cook (I'm terrified of food poisoning!), I use a digital meat thermometer from Brookstone, although I'm sure any less-fancy meat thermometer would work. Mine is pretty foolproof, though, as it has each type of meat pre-programmed so I don't have to remember how hot my food is supposed to get. So for the sake of time (we were starving), I helped the chicken along to its optimal temperature by using a lid (this one is a bit too big, it's actually for the roasting pan).

Finally, the chicken is done!

4. Transfer chicken to a plate and tent with foil.

5. Add wine and accumulated juices from the chicken to the skillet and boil until liquid has reduced by half, about 4 minutes.

Since I used 1/3 of the wine the recipe calls for, mine reduced within seconds. Just make sure you pay attention during this part so you don't end up with too little sauce at the end!

6. Remove skillet from heat and swirl in butter and herbs. Season with salt and pepper.

Now that I think about it, I think forgot to add salt and pepper at the end. It was still delicious, so you could probably skip this step if you wanted to.

I flipped my chicken over a few times in addition to just "swirling" it around in the pan. I wanted to make sure it got good coverage. 

Here is the finished product on top of some brown rice. I forgot to make the rice until after the chicken was done cooking (whoops!), so I put the pan of chicken on low-ish heat (2 or 3 on the dial) to keep it warm.

Don't forget to pour all of that saucy goodness over the chicken once on the plate!

Enjoy!