(it's been a long time coming...) lemon, butter, white wine, and caper sauce

1 large garlic clove - smashed and minced
1/4 c shallot - diced
2 Tbsp butter

1 tsp flour

1/3 c chicken stock

1/2 c white wine (i used chardonnay)

1 Tbsp + 1 tsp freshly squeezed lemon juice

1 tsp lemon zest

2 Tbsp capers

salt and  freshly ground pepper to taste

over medium-low heat melt butter.  saute garlic and shallot for 2 minutes.  add flour and brown for 1 minute.  raise heat to medium and bring chicken stock and white wine to a boil.  reduce to a simmer and stir continuously for 5 minutes.  stir in lemon juice and continue to simmer for 2-3 minutes.   in the last minute, stir in lemon zest and capers.  pull off heat and add salt and pepper. when served over pasta, toss past in the sauce with a handful of parmesan cheese. yum and enjoy!

I have dreamed about making a lemon, butter, and white wine sauce for quite some time.  I tried to make a simple sauce with only butter, lemon juice, and white wine.  But truth be told, it was very wine-y.  My sweet husband, Michael, choked it down and said it was good but I knew better.  So in this recipe, I cut the overpowering wine flavor by adding chicken stock.  In addition, I tossed the sauce with a more substantial noodle, penne, and not angel hair like I did the first time.

And there's more to this tasty gem of a recipe.  The desire to make this simple sauce was complicated when my sister-in-law made a caper sauce for Christmas dinner (her blog - pimentocheeseplease.wordpress.com).  Delicious was the only way to describe that sauce (especially when beef tenderloin was placed under it).  So the desire to make a lemon, butter, and white sauce now had to incorporate capers.  With so many dominant flavors, I wondered how it would all come together.  It did and very nicely.  Sadly Michael wasn't here to taste the finished product but my father-in-law was which might have gotten me even more in the family (if that's possible)!