G's birthday dinner: Champagne risotto & lemon-artichoke chicken

G has been pining and pining for risotto - Giada's champagne risotto, to be precise. So, in honor of his birthday (I won't say which age we were celebrating) and in lieu of dining out, I decided to make him happy at last and make the darn dish. Since I'm a firm believer that a balanced meal includes some kind of carb, some kind of protein, and some kind of veggie/greens, I decided to pair the risotto with one of my personal favorites - chicken breast cutlets in lemon-butter sauce with artichokes and capers (lemon-artichoke chicken, for short) - and a simple green salad with a lemon-dijon-walnut oil vinaigrette.

I made only one change to the risotto recipe: I substituted slices of artisanal chianti salami (from the dangerously convenient Marvelous Market directly across the street from the building) for the prosciutto. The salami was a satisfying sub for the prosciutto; once crisped in the oven, the salami slices became flavorful little crisps of meaty goodness, subtle but still substantial. I suspect the prosciutto, once crisped in the oven, would have lost some of its character.

As for the lemon-artichoke chicken, it's a dish I came up with after tweaking and combining elements of different recipes.

Chicken Breast Cutlets in Lemon-Butter Sauce with Artichokes and Capers
6 servings

Ingredients:
1 cup flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper, or to taste
2 pounds chicken breast tenderloins, thinly sliced (Purdue brand has them already thinly sliced)
4 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
2 cups chicken broth (Whole Foods brand is great and comes in small mini-boxes)
2 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
1 (12oz) jar quartered, marinated artichoke hearts, with liquid
1/4 cup capers
2 Tbsp butter
1/4 cup chopped flat-leaf parsley (optional)


Instructions:

1. Combine flour, salt, and pepper. Dredge chicken in the seasoned flour and shake off the excess.
2. Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the chicken breasts and cook until golden brown on both sides and no longer pink on the inside; set aside.
3. Add the chicken broth and lemon juice to the pan. Bring to a simmer, scraping the bottom of the pan to dissolve the caramelized bits. Add the artichoke hearts and capers, return to a simmer, and cook until reduced by half.
4. Whisk the butter into sauce until melted. Place the reserved cooked chicken back into pan and simmer in the sauce for a few minutes to reheat. Serve on a platter sprinkled with chopped fresh parsley, if desired.