Lemon Chicken Scaloppini

A chicken dish with ZIP! The zippyness comes from lemon and marinated artichokes but is mellowed out by a lovely thick, creamy thyme sauce.

Apparently, this recipe tastes like that of the Scaloppini served at T.G.I Fridays. What BETTER way to enjoy especially yummy food without the waiting spoiling your appetite than to just make it at home! Plus-this recipe has the added benefit of shoving artichokes down a certain man's man throat. ;-)

Serves: 6 - 8

2 cups very dry white wine
1 Tbls. real butter
2 cups heavy whipping cream
1 tsp. dried thyme, crushed
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. ground black pepper
*a teaspoon cornstarch mixed in water to thicken-only if needed.

2 - 2 1/2 lbs. boneless, skinless chicken breasts
2 Tbls. olive oil
8 oz. sliced fresh mushrooms
2 t. minced garlic
2 lemons – sliced in half
1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
1/2 cup coarsely chopped, marinated artichoke hearts
4 tsp. chopped fresh parsley OR 2 tsp. dried parsley
1 lb. box pasta. I wanted to use Fettuccine but realized I only had angel hair. :-(


-In a 2-quart saucepan, boil wine until reduced by half. Add lemon juice to pan, then whisk in butter until melted. Add 2 cups cream and simmer on low heat until thickened, stirring often. If necessary you can add some diluted cornstarch and boil until thickened. This is what I did because I am impatient! :-) Remove from heat, stir in spices, and set aside.

-Pound chicken breasts with the flat side of a meat mallet or the bottom of a glass or in my case, a normal lumber hammer. I will say I pounded them INSIDE a ziploc bag-so you don't think I am WEIRD or anything. :-) Pound them until thin.

-Fill a large pot with water and begin to heat to boiling. Add pasta and cook until al dente.

-Heat oil in a large skillet or wok over medium-high heat; add chicken to pan and sauté on each side for 60 – 90 seconds, or until chicken is cooked through. I took the chicken out and put it on a warmed plate because my skillet was too small. If you have a large skillet-by all means, do this stuff all together!) Add mushrooms to pan and sauté with until mushrooms begin to soften. Squeeze juice from both lemon halves over chicken and mushrooms; pick out any seeds (Pssst. you can also use LEMON JUICE-I did). Add garlic. Add 1/2 cup cream to pan and bring to a boil, stirring often. Remove from heat; stir in artichokes, parsley, and prepared lemon sauce; set aside (add chicken back to skillet if necessary) and keep warm.

-On individual serving plates or one large platter, swirl portions of drained pasta into “nest(s)”. Arrange chicken pieces in center of nest, pour sauce/mushrooms over and around chicken.