My chicken piccata,basmatti rice with roasted green beans topped with garlic and corriander

Yes, we've been away on vacation... every now and then we take a vacation from our holidays. Just returned form a glorious cruise on the "Liberty of the Seas". Marvelous ship, the company we met on board made up for the 3 days of rain we had.... Nevertheless, it was hot and that's what we were looking for!

So now it's back to my blog... I've been a little truant these past few weeks so I'll try and make up for the lack of entries over the next little while.

This is the first meal I've cooked in 10 days... hope you like it as much as we did.

Start with 2 chicken breasts...slice them almost in half. Cover with wax paper and flatten the breast. Dredge the breasts in 1/4 cup of flour which has been seasoned with salt pepper and a half tsp. of thyme.

Next prepare the following ingredients:

• 2 small shallots finely minced


• 2 cloves of garlic finely minced


• 2 tbsp capers chopped coarsely


• 1/2 cup white wine


• 1/4 cup whip cream


• a little squeeze of lemon


• 1 tsp of olive oil and a tbsp of butter


• 2 tsp of butter

Heat the oil and butter in a large frying pan over medium high heat. Add the chicken breasts and turn when lightly browned. Cook the other side until lightly browned. Remove and put in a warm oven while the sauce is being prepared.

Reduce heat to medium and add remaining butter. Saute the shallots, garlic and capers for ~a minute. Add the wine, cream and a little lemon. Cook the sauce for a couple of minutes until it thickens slightly. Add the chicken to the sauce and heat through. It's delicious!

Meanwhile cook 3/4 cup basmatti rice in 1 -1/2 cups chicken broth for 10 minutes. Bring it to a boil and then reduce the heat to low for the 10 minutes. When it is cooked, I add the zest of 1 lemon, 1/2 cup minced parsley, 2 small minced garlic cloves and a squeeze of lemon juice.

Just as you start the rice, put enough green beans for 2 on a cookie sheet (lined with foil of course). Drizzle a little olive oil and salt and pepper, toss. Roast at 450 F for 15 minutes.

The sauce for this is a simple one... just add 1 1/2 tbsp of olive oil to a little frying pan and add 3 coarsely chopped cloves of garlic. Just cook over medium heat until lightly browned and then add 2 tsp of dried coriander. Spoon a little of this sauce over the roasted beans. It's awesome and makes enough to use at least twice.

I served the dinner with salad and balsamic dressing. It was all very tasty... ENJOY!