SKILLET CHICKEN BREASTS AGLIO E OLIO

Steps:

• Trim the chicken-breast halves of all bits of fat, skin, or connective tissue with a paring knife. Do not cut off the "tenders"-the small loose flap of muscle on the underside of each half-but flatten each firmly against the larger piece, to form a neat oval.
• Sprinkle both sides of the breasts with salt, using about 1/2 teaspoon in all. Spread the flour on a piece of wax paper and press and toss each breast to coat lightly on all surfaces; shake off excess.
• Heat 2 tablespoons of the oil and all the butter in the pan over medium heat. When the butter is almost completely melted, lay the breasts in the pan, with space between them. Let them cook in place, without moving them, until they're sizzling. After 2 minutes or so, lift the first breast you put in the pan and check the underside. You want it to be lightly tinged with brown (not merely pale, but not brown all over either). Cook longer if needed, then turn all the breasts over when they've just begun to color.
• Quickly scatter all the garlic slices into the spaces between the chicken pieces, turn the heat up slightly, shake the pan, and stir the garlic slices around in the hot fat so they separate. After a minute or a bit more, when the garlic has begun to sizzle, sprinkle the peperoncino flakes in a hot spot; toast for a minute; then spill the capers in several hot spots around the pan. Give the skillet a few good shakes to distribute the seasonings, and run the hot juices all around the breasts.
• Raise the heat another notch. When everything's sizzling hard, pour the red wine vinegar into the open spaces and shake the pan to spread it. Let the vinegar sizzle and reduce for 1/2 minute or so, then pour in the broth.
• Cook at full blast now, quickly bringing the liquid to a boil. As it cooks, drizzle the remaining 2 tablespoons of oil all around the pan, and sprinkle on another 1/4 teaspoon of salt. Let the sauce bubble and reduce for a couple of minutes, shaking the skillet frequently, then sprinkle the bread crumbs into the sauce (not on the chicken) and stir and shake to mix them in. Within a minute or two, the crumbs will thicken the sauce visibly; cook, shaking the skillet, until it has the consistency you like. Turn off the heat, scatter the parsley over everything-and shake the skillet again.
• Serve right away. I usually bring the pan to the table and serve family-style. For a more formal presentation, spoon a pool of sauce onto a warm dinner plate, place a breast half on top, and moisten with a bit more sauce. Serve the chosen vegetable in the same plate.
• My Way of Salting
• I find that, when cooking, I like to salt progressively-that is, to season with salt as I add each major ingredient to the pot. So it's difficult in recipe instructions to stop and tell you: Now salt the onions, now the meat, now the sauce, and so on. And the chances are that you would end up oversalting.
• I suggest, therefore, with each recipe that you are about to cook, measure out the total amount of salt called for, and use a little of it to salt at different stages, gauging it so that you have a little left to adjust to taste at the end.
• Serve With . . .
• Many vegetables will go well with this dish, depending on the season: Roasted Winter Squash (page 279), Warm Broccoli di Rape and Yukon Gold Potato Salad (page 46), or crispy baked Broccoli and Cauliflower Gratinate (page 243).
• Polenta with Leeks (page 216) could also be served to mop up the zesty sauce.