Sea Island Supper

        Plump, ripe strawberries fresh from the sea islands are in season! The menu this week begins with a salad of spring greens topped with a creamy strawberry dressing, sliced fresh strawberries and pistachios. The easy-to-make dressing is pureed in a blender until smooth. When strawberries are out of season fresh raspberries make a delicious substitute. The main course is a simple sauté. Many restaurant versions of chicken piccata include a lemony sauce that is spiked with caper berries. This variation has more flavor and crunch, as artichoke hearts and bottoms and grape tomatoes are added along with the capers for a dish that’s perfect for entertaining. Lemon-chive mashed potatoes are a great accompaniment to the chicken piccata. Enjoy!

Spring Salad with Strawberry
Cream Dressing
For the dressing:
1 cup sour cream
1 cup mayonnaise
1/4 cup raspberry vinegar
1 medium shallot, finely chopped
5 fresh, ripe strawberries, dried and sliced
Sea Salt
Freshly ground black pepper
Combine all ingredients in a blender. Season to taste with sea salt and pepper. Pour into a container with a tight fitting lid and refrigerate until ready to serve.
For the salad:
6 handfuls spring salad mix
6 tablespoons salted pistachios
1 pint fresh strawberries, washed, dried and sliced
Place the spring salad on 6 salad plates. Drizzle each with some of the dressing and sprinkle with the pistachios and strawberries. Serves 6.

Chicken Piccata with Artichokes and Grape Tomatoes
6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
Salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon fresh thyme
1 large clove garlic, minced
1 cup dry white wine
1 cup chicken broth
Juice of 1 lemon
1 lemon, cut into thin rounds
1 (14-ounce) can quartered artichoke hearts, drained
1 (14-ounce) can artichoke bottoms, drained and cut into small pieces
1 (3-ounce) jar capers, drained
2 cups grape tomatoes, halved
Sprigs of fresh thyme, for garnish
With a kitchen mallet, pound each chicken breast piece. Rinse the cutlets and pat dry with paper towels. Season with salt and pepper. Place the flour in a pie pan or other rimmed flat dish. Dredge the cutlets in the flour, shaking off any excess. Heat the butter and oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add as many chicken cutlets as will fit in the pan without touching. Brown the cutlets on both sides, remove to a plate and continue until all cutlets are browned (they will complete cooking later), adding more butter and olive oil to the skillet as needed. Place all of the browned cutlets on a plate and set aside. Add the thyme and garlic to the skillet and sauté for 1 minute, until fragrant. Add the wine, chicken broth, lemon juice and lemon rounds to the pan, scraping up any brown bits in the bottom. Return all of the chicken cutlets to the skillet along with the artichoke hearts and bottoms. Simmer until the sauce is slightly reduced and the chicken is cooked through, about 5 minutes. Stir in the capers and grape tomato halves and season with additional salt and pepper, if needed. To serve, place one cutlet on each dinner plate, top with the artichoke-tomato sauce and garnish with a sprig of fresh thyme. Serves 6.

Lemon-Chive Mashed Potatoes
3 pounds Yukon gold potatoes, peeled and cut into 1-inch cubes
1/2 cup buttermilk
6 tablespoons butter
2 medium cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon grated lemon zest
1/2 cup chopped fresh chives
Sea salt
Fresh ground black pepper
Bring a large pot of water to a boil over medium-high heat. Add the potatoes and simmer until tender. Drain and return potatoes to the pot. Mash the potatoes with the buttermilk. In a small skillet over medium heat, melt the butter. Add garlic and sauté for 1 minute. Stir in the lemon zest and chives. Remove from heat and set aside. Stir the lemon butter into the potatoes. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Serves 6.