Chicken Piccata with Fried Capers

The winning entree for the last two weeks has been this recipe for Chicken Piccata with Fried Capers, also from Kalyn's Kitchen.  I like capers already, but I think the frying makes them even better, and my boyfriend (who is being forced to try many of my concoctions) thinks the frying turns them from bad to ok. :)  I've made this twice now, and it's been great both times.  The second time I tried making a double recipe, which was very easy.  Here's a copy of the recipe.

Chicken Piccata with Fried Capers from Kalyn's Kitchen
(Makes 2-3 servings, but could easily be doubled. Recipe adapted slightly from Fine Cooking Annual.)

2 or 3 very large boneless, skinless chicken breasts
2 T nonpareil capers (or less if you don't love capers like I do)
2 T olive oil
salt and pepper to season chicken
1/2 tsp. poultry seasoning (optional, not in the original recipe)
1 clove crushed garlic or about 1/8 tsp. garlic puree
1/2 cup homemade chicken stock (or use canned chicken broth, but be sure it's low sodium)
2 T fresh lemon juice
1/2 tsp. Splenda (honey can be used if not on South Beach Diet)
1 T butter or Smart Balance spread, cut up (original recipe called for 2 T, but I thought 1 T was plenty)
1 T chopped fresh parsley

Trim all visible fat and tendons from chicken breasts. Cut each one in half to make two pieces about the same size. One at a time, put pieces inside a heavy ziploc bag and pound chicken to make it an even 1/2 inch thick. Season chicken with a small amount of salt, pepper, and poultry seasoning if using. Chop parlsey and set aside.

Rinse the capers and pat dry with paper towels. In a 10-inch nonstick frying pan, heat olive oil over medium-high heat. When oil is hot, add capers and fry until they open slightly and crisp a little, took 60-90 seconds for me. Remove pan from heat and use a spoon to transfer capers to paper towel, letting the oil drip back into pan.

Get oil hot again, then saute chicken on top side until nicely browned, about 3-4 minutes. Turn over and cook on other side until chicken is done, probably only 1-2 minutes on the second side. Arrange chicken on serving dish with browned side facing up. (You can cover them to keep warm if you want, but I didn't and they were fine.)

While chicken browns, measure out chicken stock, garlic, butter, and lemon juice so they are ready. Add garlic to hot pan and saute 15-30 seconds. Add chicken stock, and scrape pan to dissolve browned bits. Cook until stock is reduced by half, about 2 minutes. Stir in lemon juice and Splenda, then turn off heat and add butter/smart balance spread, stirring until butter is melted. Add half of capers and parsley to sauce, then pour sauce over chicken, garnishing with remaining capers.

Alissa's Notes
I have made this twice so far, once with a normal size, once with a double recipe.  For a novice chef, I would make sure to measure everything (chicken stock, garlic, butter, and lemon juice) before starting to cook the chicken, as you will be too paranoid about how long to cook the chicken to measure everything in time.  Also, the original recipe calls for butter for taste even on South Beach Phase 1, but I thought the Smart Balance spread tasted good.  I also substituted more oil instead of the spread the second day since I had run out of the spread, and it still tasted pretty good.  When cooking the chicken, the pounding is important for making sure the chicken cooks in the correct amount of time.  The first time I definitely overcooked it by leaving the chicken on the second side for longer than the recipe suggests, so stick to the suggested time.  The medium-high heat seemed a little high for me, though, so I turned it down almost to medium the second time around.