The origin of chicken piccata is somewhat in dispute—some say that it was an Italian-American take on a classic veal recipe from the Boot. Certainly, it’s long been a mainstay on many Italian restaurant menus here in the US. No matter who claims credit for it, one thing is certain: it’s delicious and easy to make all in one pan. A side of your favorite pasta and a plate of spring asparagus complete the menu!
Ingredients
2 pounds skinless, boneless chicken breasts
3/4 cup white whole wheat flour, more if needed
1 teaspoon fine sea salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Extra virgin olive oil, as needed
6 garlic cloves, peeled and sliced
1 cup white wine
1 cup chicken broth, homemade or low sodium store-bought
1 lemon, halved
1/4 cup capers, plus 1 tablespoon of their brine
2 tablespoons butter, cut into 8 pieces
1/4 cup chopped flat-leaf parsley
Directions
Step 1
Slice each chicken breast horizontally into 2 or 3 thin cutlets. In a deep pie plate, mix the flour, salt, and pepper. Heat a very large skillet and, when hot, add 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Dredge the cutlets in the flour mixture one at a time, shake off any excess, and place them in the pan. Continue until your skillet is full. Don’t crowd the cutlets: work in batches if needed, adding 2 more tablespoons of oil to the skillet before adding the next batch. When the cutlets have browned on the bottom (after about 5 minutes), flip and continue cooking for another 3 minutes (the thinner the cutlet, the less time each will take). Transfer the cutlets to a large clean plate near your stovetop.
Step 2
Add another tablespoon of olive oil to the skillet and sauté the garlic until fragrant and lightly browned. Add the wine and broth, and whisk the liquids to get up the fond on the bottom of the pan. Bring to a simmer and add back the cutlets (submerge them as much as possible) along with the capers and brine. Continue cooking until the liquid reduces by half and the chicken is cooked through. Squeeze in the juice of one lemon half and stir in the butter. Cook for 2 more minutes and sprinkle with the parsley. Cut the remaining lemon half into thin slices and serve along with 2 or 4 cutlets per person.
Chocolate Chocolate-Chip Cupcakes Recipe, Spotlight on Greek Yogurt, Proper Baking Pan Prep, Cutting Caffeine without Withdrawal Symptoms and Building Core Strength
It’s wonderful to get all the benefits of olive oil in a healthy everyday diet. But what about when you want to indulge? Using extra virgin olive oil instead of butter in sweets can cut the guilt factor along with the saturated fat, and these double chocolate muffins are a tasty example! Need to take a break from coffee? Findings from an Australian study make it easier. Finally, core work is an area of fitness that many people forget—so I’ve included some ideas to work it into your workouts.
These cupcakes cake are so rich that they don’t need any icing, but if you want to gild the lily, frost them with vanilla buttercream for a two-flavor sensation.
Ingredients
2 cups all-purpose or pastry flour
1/2 cup cocoa
2 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon instant espresso powder
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1-1/2 cups sugar
2 extra-large eggs
1 cup Greek yogurt
3/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/4 cup milk
1-1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
12 ounces chocolate chips
Directions
Step 1
Heat your oven to 350°F. Prep a 12-muffin pan with paper liners or lightly coat with some olive oil. In a large bowl, sift together the flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda, espresso powder, and salt. In a second, larger bowl, whisk the sugar and eggs until well blended and then whisk in the yogurt, followed by the olive oil, milk, and vanilla. Slowly add the wet ingredients to the flour mixture, folding with a spatula as you go, until mostly incorporated. Add about 10 ounces of chips and finish folding all the ingredients together. Use an ice cream scoop to fill the cupcake liners, then sprinkle the tops with the remaining chips.
Step 2
Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, depending on your oven—the cupcakes are done when the point of a knife inserted in the center of a few cupcakes comes out almost clean (there may be melted chocolate from the chips, but shouldn’t be wet batter).
Yields 12 servings
Healthy Ingredient Spotlight
Greek Yogurt
This uber-popular yogurt is so thick and luscious because it’s strained. This step roughly doubles the protein of traditional yogurt, though some calcium is lost in the process. With no shortage of options in the refrigerator case at your local stores, choosing the right Greek yogurt variety might seem like a daunting task. But there are really only two guidelines you need to narrow down the choices. First, always opt for plain. That means you’ll skip any added sugars—add your own fruit or flavorings, such as pure vanilla paste, to customize it yourself. Second, pick the fat content that meets your health needs. Fat-free or low-fat options are great if you want to minimize calories. Some people find that full fat is more filling and may, as a result, lead them to eat less. You might vary these versions and see what works best for you.
Quick Kitchen Nugget
Baking Pan Preps
Paper liners are perfect for cupcakes and muffins, but what about other baking pans? My go-to is parchment paper, a simple alternative to greasing and flouring pans. With a pair of scissors, you can cut the paper to whatever size you need for your pan and then use the edges to easily slide out your baked goods after the cooking time is complete. A nifty hack when using a loaf pan is to trim the parchment to the length of the pan but triple the width to allow the paper to hang over both the long sides. You get built-in handles for lifting out the cake or bread when it’s done. (If you feel any resistance, use a spatula to release the short sides from the pan.)
For Your Best Health
Cutting Caffeine without Withdrawal Symptoms
Need to cut back on or eliminate coffee from your diet for a time and dreading the headache? Researchers at University of Sydney in Australia found caffeine withdrawal symptoms, such as headache, fatigue, bad mood, and irritability, shrank after study participants drank decaf even when they knew it was decaf.
“A convincing cup of decaf has the power to reduce withdrawal symptoms a lot when the person drinking it is unaware it’s decaf. But our study suggests that even if they are aware it’s decaf, their withdrawal still subsides,” said Dr. Llew Mills, a senior research associate at the university’s School of Addiction Medicine.
For the study, 61 heavy coffee drinkers, defined as those who consume three or more cups a day, went without caffeine for 24 hours and had their withdrawal symptoms measured. They were then separated into three groups. Two groups were given decaf, but only one was told it was decaf; the other was deceived into thinking it was regular coffee. The third group, a control group, was given water.
“The group we lied to reported a big drop in caffeine withdrawal even though there’s no pharmacological reason why it should. Because they expected their withdrawal to go down, it did go down. In other words, a placebo effect,” Dr. Mills said. “We’ve found this in several studies now. What was interesting in this new study is that withdrawal symptoms also reduced even when people knew they were getting decaf. Not as much as the group we lied to, but a significant amount.”
This type of reaction is known as an open-label placebo effect, which is an effect that occurs even when someone knows he or she is being given a placebo. Dr. Mills and his colleagues concluded that it was driven by a strong conditioned withdrawal-reduction effect built up over a lifetime of drinking coffee. Years of associating the taste and smell of coffee with withdrawal reduction means decaf can elicit a conditioned withdrawal reduction effect even without the caffeine and even, it turns out, without the expectation.
Dr. Mills added that the effect was probably only short lived—withdrawal wouldn’t be reduced by decaf indefinitely. “But a cup of decaf could help someone who is trying to cut back their caffeine intake to temporarily ride out the worst of the cravings and help them stay caffeine-free,” he said.
Fitness Flash
Develop your Core Principles
Many of us know the importance of muscle strength—having strong arms and strong legs, for example. But we don’t always appreciate the value of having strong core muscles, those of the abdomen and back. They’re essential for good posture; for moving forward, backward, and sideways; and for other aspects of a healthy spine. Not everyone loves crunches and planks, but some form of core work is a must. Try adding two or three exercises to your existing workouts two or three days a week to start. Another approach is to practice Pilates, a discipline that focuses on the core with unique exercise moves that benefit the whole body; options include mat work and machines unique to Pilates.
These cupcakes cake are so rich that they don’t need any icing, but if you want to gild the lily, frost them with vanilla buttercream for a two-flavor sensation.
Ingredients
2 cups all-purpose or pastry flour
1/2 cup cocoa
2 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon instant espresso powder
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1-1/2 cups sugar
2 extra-large eggs
1 cup Greek yogurt
3/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/4 cup milk
1-1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
12 ounces chocolate chips
Directions
Step 1
Heat your oven to 350°F. Prep a 12-muffin pan with paper liners or lightly coat with some olive oil. In a large bowl, sift together the flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda, espresso powder, and salt. In a second, larger bowl, whisk the sugar and eggs until well blended and then whisk in the yogurt, followed by the olive oil, milk, and vanilla. Slowly add the wet ingredients to the flour mixture, folding with a spatula as you go, until mostly incorporated. Add about 10 ounces of chips and finish folding all the ingredients together. Use an ice cream scoop to fill the cupcake liners, then sprinkle the tops with the remaining chips.
Step 2
Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, depending on your oven—the cupcakes are done when the point of a knife inserted in the center of a few cupcakes comes out almost clean (there may be melted chocolate from the chips, but shouldn’t be wet batter).
This simple adaptation of the classic French onion soup is a meal in itself—perfect for lunch or dinner. If you’ve got a free afternoon, making your own rich beef stock is a slow-food pleasure, but a store-bought brand will still deliver rich taste. Take the time to fully caramelize the onions at the start of this recipe—that’s where most of the active cooking time is needed and where the deep flavor develops. You’ll be well rewarded for the effort. This recipe is for a very large batch, enough for two or three meals, depending on how many people you’re serving. For the melted cheese topping, this twist on bread rounds is fun and easier to eat with a spoon!
Ingredients
For the soup:
5 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
5 pounds yellow onions, peeled and sliced into roughly ½” rounds
Coarse salt
Sugar
1/2 cup cognac
8 cups beef stock
1 cup dry vermouth
Freshly ground black pepper to taste
For the croutons:
10 baguette slices, about ½” thick, cut into cubes
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1/2 cup grated gruyere cheese
Directions
Step 1
Caramelize the onions: Heat a large, heavy-bottomed skillet over medium-high heat. Note: Depending on the size of your skillet, you may need to work in batches or use two skillets at once. Add one tablespoon of the oil for every pound of onions you sauté at a time. As you place the onions in the pan, separate each slice into rounds. Toss the onions in the oil and then cover the pan to sweat the onions for about 10 minutes over low-medium heat, taking care not to burn them. Take off the cover, sprinkle the onions with large pinches of salt and sugar, and continue cooking until they become soft and browned, up to 50 minutes (the liquid in the pan will evaporate; add a tablespoon of water as needed to prevent burning). At the end of the cooking time, add the cognac to deglaze the pan and then transfer everything to a large stockpot.
Step 2
To finish the soup: Add the beef stock and vermouth to the stockpot and bring to a boil. Lower the heat to a simmer and continue cooking for another hour. Taste and add black pepper, if desired.
Step 3
For the croutons: Just before serving the soup, turn on your oven to broil. Spread out the bread cubes on a cookie sheet and toast under the broiler, watching closely, as it should take only a few seconds. Very carefully, take the sheet out of the oven and use tongs to push the toasted croutons together. Sprinkle on the grated cheese and put back under the broiler until the cheese melts, again for only a few seconds.
Step 4
To serve, ladle soup into bowls or wide mugs and, using tongs, top each with some cheesy croutons.
