Chicken with Lemon, Artichoke, and Grape Tomatoes

My sister sent me a recipe she said I had to try:  Chicken with Lemon, Artichoke, and Grape Tomatoes. It's a variation of chicken piccata, and the original can be found at Viking Range. I made it for dinner last night. Other than using some chopped sun-dried tomatoes (hard to find grape tomatoes in mid December in the Midwest), I made no changes to the recipe.

It was good. I think my only complaint was that the capers made it a bit too salty. The saltiness of the capers and sour bite from the lemon made for a different flavor profile. I served it with mashed potatoes & chives, and honey-glazed carrots. The sauce went very well with the potatoes.

3 large boneless, skinless chicken breast halves, rinsed and patted dry with paper towels
Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon fresh thyme
1 teaspoon minced garlic, about 1 large clove
1 cup dry white wine
1 cup reduced-sodium 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, cut in half
Sprigs of fresh thyme, for garnish

Place one of the chicken breast halves on a flat surface and cut into 2 cutlets with a sharp knife. Continue with remaining chicken breast halves. Season cutlets with salt and pepper. Place flour in a pie plate or other rimmed flat dish. Dredge cutlets in flour, shaking off any excess.

Heat butter and olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add as many chicken cutlets as will fit in the pan without touching. Brown 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 cutlets on a plate and set aside.

Add thyme and garlic to the skillet and sauté for 1 minute, until fragrant. Add 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 heart and bottoms.

Simmer until sauce is slightly reduced and chicken is cooked through, about 5 minutes. Stir in capers and grape tomato halves and season with additional salt and pepper, if needed. To serve, place 1 cutlet on each dinner plate, top with the artichoke-tomato sauce and garnish with a sprig of fresh thyme.

Makes 6 servings.

(I took pictures, but they didn't turn out - seems I've got some lighting issues)