Impromptu Entertaining: Chicken with Hot Lemon Butter Sauce

We had some chicken breasts and I was looking for something different to make with them, BUT not something that would take a lot of time.  Having all the ingredients on hand was also a necessity!  I took a recipe for Hot Lemon Butter found in Williams-Sonoma’s ‘Complete Pasta Cookbook’ and incorporated it into a baked chicken dish.  We then served it with some roasted asparagus, baked potatoes, and garlic bread.

Chicken with Hot Lemon Butter Sauce

• 2-4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• 4 Tbs olive oil (divided)
• cracked black pepper (to taste)
• kosher salt (to taste)
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter
• 4 garlic cloves, peeled and minced
• 1 Tbs fresh lemon juice
• 2-3 tsp hot pepper sauce (I used chili oil instead)
• 1 tsp grated lemon zest
• parmesan cheese, finely grated

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.

Take the chicken breasts and put them in a plastic bag or in between plastic wrap.  Pound with a meat tenderizer until no thicker than a half an inch.  Sprinkle with salt and pepper.

Heat a skillet pan on medium heat.  Brown the chicken breasts individually, one a time.  For each piece, heat 1 Tbs of olive oil in the pan and then add the chicken.  Cook on each side for 2-3 minutes.  Once browned on each side, put each chicken breast in a baking dish and set aside.

Melt butter in a small sauce pan over medium heat.  Add the  garlic, lemon, chili oil (or hot pepper sauce), and zest to the melted butter.  Let cook for 2-3 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Pour butter mixture over the chicken breasts in the baking dish until chicken is nicely coated.  Depending on how many chicken breasts you are making, you may have more butter than you need.  Use your own judgement on how much to put on.  You do want to make sure though that there is enough to keep the chicken juicy while baking.  Then top with finely shredded Parmesan cheese and more cracked black pepper.

Bake for 20-30 minutes or until the interior temperature of the chicken reaches 165 degrees .

Enjoy!