Chicken Scaloppini

My brother taught me how to make this, and it's become something that we LOVE to have at Christmas because it's fancy, special, and easy to customize it the way everyone wants it. You can also prep so much of it in advance that it helps with less crazy cleanup for Christmas time. Don't be intimidated by the number of steps. They are all simple and I just wanted to lay everything out so I can remember exactly what I need to do.

I had to get the recipe from my brother two years ago, lost it, and had to get it again... so THIS TIME I am putting it on the blog before it gets misplaced... again... Enjoy! (Keep in mind, this is how I make it for several people on Christmas Eve and we have leftovers to spare, but you can certainly do this in smaller or bigger batches.)

Michel's Chicken Scaloppini

Ingredients: 
(You can change this up depending on what you like. For example, I don't put mushrooms, onions or tomatoes in my serving.)

• Butter (for cooking the chicken in and prepping the pan)
• Chicken Breasts
• Bacon
• Tomatoes
• Broccoli
• Onions
• Garlic (I use the pre-minced fresh garlic in a jar that's packed in oil)
• Mushrooms
• Parmesan
• Sauté Spice (equal portions dry basil, dry oregano, ground black pepper mixed together)
• Heavy Cream
• Lemon Butter (see instructions below)
• Pasta
• Parsley for garnish

LEMON BUTTER: Just like making a batch of homemade garlic butter or honey butter, you will make more than you need for a single serving. You will only use a little of this at a time and then store the rest for later: whip together 1 tsp minced fresh garlic, 2 TBL white wine, 2 TBL lemon juice, and lots of butter... the recipe actually says "lots" of butter. I think Mike said like possibly 2-4 cubes... correct me if I'm wrong Mike!

Prep can be done days in advance!
Step 1- Prep: Make your lemon butter following the directions above. It would appear the amount of butter you use varies to taste. The first year I made this recipe, I must have used a whole box of butter, cuz you can see the container of it next to the stove in the bottom right of this picture. It's the clear container sitting on the red lid with the metal spoon across the top. It was A LOT! This year, I skipped this step and just used some regular butter because I ran out of time (and remembered not being able to use up all of my lemon butter from the previous batch) and everything still turned out great. So, you decide. It does add good flavor to the dish though, and I would think you can save the leftovers for cooking meat and veggies in later, possibly even freeze it in smaller, user-friendly batches.

Step 2- Prep: Wash, cut and chop your veggies into bite-sized pieces (broccoli, onion, mushrooms, tomatoes or any other veggies you want in your pasta). The smaller you chop, the faster they will cook in the end. So if you like your broccoli completely soft, cut it small. If you like it al dente, then chop it a bit bigger.
Step 3- Prep: Select any kind of pasta that you like for the dish. I like bite-sized pastas like bow-tie. Cook an entire package of pasta according to the package directions. Lightly coat and toss the cooked/drained pasta in some oil (extra virgin olive oil is typically preferred, but use what you have) so that it won't stick together when stored.
Step 4- Prep: Chop an entire package of bacon into bite-sized pieces and cook until done. Reserve some of the fat for cooking the chicken.

Step 5- Prep: I will buy a tray of boneless skinless chicken breasts at the store (maybe 4-5 LARGE breasts). Then cut the chicken into bite-sized pieces and cook in a frying pan with some bacon drippings (from Step 4), butter (or lemon butter), and sprinkle in some sauté spice (for the sauté spice- sprinkle until it looks they way you want it... see my picture below for an example). Cook chicken until no longer pink and golden. Depending on how much chicken you are doing, I often need my biggest pan and might have to drain some of the liquid that is released from the chicken during the cooking process to speed things up (rather than wait for it all to evaporate). Just depends on how wet the chicken is.

Step 6- Prep: Grate a fresh block of Parmesan cheese. I like to "chip" mine into big decorative flakes instead of grating into shreds for a fun presentation at the end, but you can do it how you like.
Step 7- Prep: Chop fresh parsley just before you start cooking, for garnish if desired, or use dry.

Once you have the prep all done in advance, assembling each serving is fairly quick and easy, and doesn't make a ton of dishes!!!! Perfect for Christmas time!

Preparing the Dish: (This is how I made it at least, and Mike might have other input... but I remember a direct tip from Mike to me was, "This should all come together in a couple of minutes because basically you are just heating things through and thickening the cream. If you are standing at the stove for more than about five to ten minutes, you are doing something wrong.")

Your desired portion size per person in the end will determine the size of frying pan you will need as you prep each plate on it's own. I used a medium-sized pan, anywhere from probably about 7-10 inches. It's Christmas, and we love food, so I probably use the 10-inch. Ha, ha!

Preheat your pan over medium heat, and when hot, add a spoonful of butter (or lemon butter) to the pan to start melting. Add all your desired ingredients to the pan in the customized portions that your guests want. For me, I will toss in a large handful of chicken and a smaller handful of bacon and broccoli. Toss it around in the pan to reheat the meat through and cook the veggies to your desired doneness. You can even sprinkle the entire pan with some extra saute spice if you like.

The entire cooking process is a fairly gentle "heating through" of the prepped ingredients, especially the cream later on, so on my stove I set the heat to about 4-5 on a scale of 1-10, if that makes sense.

Once the veggies and meat look about the way you want them (should just take a couple of minutes or else your veggies were cut too big) add a sprinkling of Parmesan to the pan (or more if you like it cheesy), about a tsp of garlic if you like, and your desired amount of pasta (for me, maybe two handfuls). Pour in some heavy whipping cream. The amount again can vary depending on your taste and Mike taught me to just eyeball it, but enough to coat the bottom of the pan. It's definitely more than a splash, but not enough to make things soupy. This is going to make your sauce, so if it looks to dry, add more. If it looks to wet, then keep cooking until it reduces to the consistency you like (or maybe pour some off if you went REALLY overboard).

Stir and heat the cream to a gentle bubble. Avoid too much boiling of the cream so it doesn't separate. If that happens, just add a touch more cream and heat slightly until it comes back together. Keep stirring and tossing things, letting the cream bubble away until it thickens and everything heats through. Once the sauce starts to coat the back of a spoon and when you drag your wooden spoon across the bottom of the pan it makes a divide in the sauce that doesn't immediately fill back in, it's done! Plate it, garnish with extra Parmesan flakes and parsley, and enjoy!

That might sound like A LOT, but it's SO WORTH IT!!! And really pretty simple. After making a plate or two for your guests, you will get the feel of how much to put in each pan and it will become one of your favorite dishes to make. It's also awesome because any prepped ingredients you don't use become easy "left-overs" to make dinner or lunch another day, and it's really never "left over" because you prep each pan fresh each time!