This week The New Mexican's Cooking with Chef Johnny Vee video (posted on etastesantafe.com) offers three relatively simple ways to eat well without spending either too much time or money.

The three recipes — for Chicken Piccata, Chicken Marsala and Pork Milanese — all use the same general technique for slicing a boneless, skinless piece of meat — chicken, turkey, pork or veal, even eggplant will work well — on the diagonal to create scallopine (or thin rounds); pounding the slices of meat flat with a mallet; then sautéing them quickly in a mixture of butter and olive oil. The sauces for each recipe also use the same "à la minute" technique: they are prepared right in the pan after the meat has been cooked.


* Using both butter and oil to sauté ups the flash point of the fat and gives you more time to brown the meat before the butter starts to burn.

* Covering each slice of chicken with a large ziplock baggie before you pound it will make the job easier — and neater.

* Adding a drizzle of white truffle oil to the Chicken Marsala ups the flavor — but also the price — of the dish, putting it a little outside the bail-out category. Feel free to leave it out. But if you decide to go for the more luxurious version, you can find white truffle oil in several Santa Fe markets. Refrigerate it after opening and it will keep a long time, adding its earthy essence to a number of dishes (it's especially yummy on mashed potatoes and scrambled eggs).

* Finish your Milanese with a simple tomato sauce, as in this recipe, or just top it with a sprinkle of minced fresh parsley.

* All three dishes can be served with pasta or polenta, or next to a pile of creamy mashed potatoes. A green salad completes the meal.

CHICKEN PICATTA
(Serves 6)

2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1/3 cup flour
2 eggs
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
3 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons minced shallots
Juice of 2 lemons
3 tablespoons capers
1/4 cup chopped parsley
Salt and pepper to taste

Trim chicken breasts to remove any fat, gristle or connective tissue and slice each of them across the grain, at a 45-degree angle, into 1/4-inch slices. You should now have 18 slices of chicken. Pound each slice with the smooth side of a meat mallet until very thin, about 1/8 inch thick.

Put flour on large plate. Beat eggs in large shallow bowl.

Heat butter and olive oil in large skillet over medium heat.

Salt and pepper each chicken piece then lightly flour each. Finally, pass chicken pieces through the egg mixture and drain briefly.

Add chicken to hot oil and butter in the skillet and sauté 2 minutes on each side, in small enough batches so that chicken lays flat in the pan. Place cooked chicken on large plate and set aside.

Turn skillet up to high heat, add shallots and allow to brown slightly. Add lemon juice and capers. Swirl the pan and allow juice to reduce by half. Add parsley and return chicken to pan and stir to coat with sauce.

Season with salt and pepper and serve on warm plates.

2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1/4 cup flour
3 teaspoons olive oil
6 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/4 cup fresh squeezed orange juice
1/2 cup sliced button mushrooms
1/2 cup dry Marsala
2 teaspoons chopped parsley
Salt and pepper to taste
Drizzle of white truffle oil (optional)

Trim chicken breasts and cut 1/4-inch slices across the grain of the meat. Pound each slice, with the smooth side of a meat mallet until very thin, about 1/8 inch. Put flour on large plate.

Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil and 2 tablespoons butter in skillet. When butter foams, quickly sauté mushrooms until lightly browned. Remove mushrooms from pan. Add remaining olive oil and 2 more tablespoons of butter to pan.

Season scallopine with salt and pepper and lightly flour them. Sauté in butter/oil mixture until lightly browned on both sides

Remove chicken from pan, turn heat to low and add orange juice. Allow to reduce by half and add Marsala.

Allow Marsala to reduce by half and then swirl in remaining 2 tablespoon butter. Add parsley, mushrooms and chicken, making sure to add juices from the chicken to the pan. Season with salt and pepper

Drizzle with truffle oil (if using) and serve on warm plates.

2 pounds boneless pork chops
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 cup bread crumbs
1/4 cup flour
Salt and pepper, to taste
3 tablespoons olive oil
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
Simple Tomato Sauce, for serving (recipe below)

Slice pork into scallopine by cutting across the grain to make 1/4-inch slices. Pound each slice with the smooth side of a meat mallet until about 1/4-inch thick.

Set up a breading station by placing flour in a large flat pan, eggs in a shallow bowl and bread crumbs in another shallow bowl.

Heat olive oil and butter in a large sauté pan until butter starts to foam. Turn heat to medium-low.

Lightly season both sides of meat with salt and pepper.

Start breading by first dipping cutlet into flour, then into egg, Allow excess egg to drip off, then dip cutlet into bread crumbs. Pat bread crumbs onto cutlet and shake off excess. Repeat with as many cutlets as will fit easily into pan, without crowding.

Place cutlets directly into sauté pan and brown about 3 minutes on each side, depending on the thickness of the slices you are cooking. If cooking a large batch, add more olive oil and butter as necessary. If sauté pan starts to get too gritty with bread crumbs, wipe pan out and start with new oil and butter. (Keep cutlets warm in low oven until all are cooked.)

Top cutlets with simple tomato sauce and serve immediately.

SIMPLE TOMATO SAUCE
(Makes about 3 cups)

1/4 cup olive oil
6 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
1 pound Roma tomatoes, diced
1/3 cup dry vermouth or dry white wine
1 (14.5-ounce) can diced tomatoes
1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1/2 cup fresh basil, chopped
Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

Place olive oil in a medium saucepan. Sauté garlic in oil over medium heat until golden brown. Add fresh tomatoes and simmer 10 minutes. Add vermouth and canned tomatoes and simmer for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally

Add pepper flakes and season with salt and pepper. Stir in basil just prior to serving.

Sauce can be made in advance and kept in the refrigerator for a day or so before serving.



Find more videos like this on eTaste