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Thursday Recipe Exchange: Grilled Chicken
Photo by JeffreyW
Tonight we’ll start with grilling chicken. I have a stockpile of marinade and grilling recipes for chicken breasts. I may be in the minority, but when it comes to many chicken dishes, including bbq and fried chicken, I prefer thighs. They have more flavor and are moister. The introduction of boneless thighs was like a culinary miracle as far as I was concerned.
When I am using marinades, though, I actually prefer boneless breasts. Similar to pork loin, they take on whatever flavors are introduced and cook up quickly. When using a marinade, I think their blandness proves more of an asset than a deficit; they are kind of like a blank canvas for introducing flavors.
And for busy weeknights, nothing is quicker and easier than pulling marinated chicken breasts out of the refrigerator, doing a quick stir-fry or grilling them and serving with rice and a salad. I have three recipes to get us started:
Cranberry Grilled Chicken (recipe here) is one of my favorites and anyone who has read this blog, knows I LOVE cranberries.
And Sunrise Chicken (recipe here) is a great citrus based marinade.
Tonight’s feature recipe is a marinade that is meant for grilling. Grilling gives the marinated breasts a nice crust. It can also be used on pork loin or boneless pork chops, though I prefer apple cider or cranberry juice to the grape juice in that case.
So what do you look forward to the most at a picnic? What’s your favorite thing to grill?
Fruit Juice Marinated Chicken Breasts
- 4 chicken boneless breasts
- ½ cup grape or cranberry juice
- ½ cup soy sauce
- ½ cup wine
- 2 tsp crushed garlic
zip lock bag or sealed container
Add all ingredients into zip lock bag and thoroughly coat & let marinate overnight. Grill 15 minutes each side, 165 degrees internal temp.
When grilling, to avoid drying chicken out, sear on each side (about 5 minutes each side), cook 5 additional minutes for each side, baste with marinade if desired, then move away from high heat for rest of the cooking time. The thickness of the chicken breasts makes a difference here, so adjust accordingly.
You’ re on your own tonight. I’ve been asked to film a drumming on Sunday and tonight is going to be a trial run. Should be fun.
Thursday Recipe Exchange: Rice
JeffreyW makes a delicious rice side.
Brown rice – I prefer long grain, though at the local Asian market I can get brown jasmine, basmati and aborio fairly easily, each with a unique flavor. Brown rice is nutty and a bit sweet. It’s a great compliment with any fish, beef, poultry or pork. The only addition it needs is a touch of butter and salt. Besides being full of flavor, it is also packed with nutrients. Per cup it has 5 grams of protein, 3 grams of fiber, calcium, iron, magnesium, potassium and niacin, as well as other vitamins and minerals. It’s a great side that adds flavor to many dishes. Brown rice cooks like regular rice in a 2:1 ratio of water to rice. But it takes longer to cook. About 45 minutes at a low simmer.
I still use white rice, though. White rice varieties are more delicate and are necessary when you want the rice to take on the flavor of a sauce or spice. Brown rice’s rich flavor can overpower the balance of flavors in some dishes.
Jasmine—A long grain rice, delicately fragrant, soft, moist and slightly sticky, compliments any Asian dish.
Arborio (white) - A medium grain rice, with a chalky white appearance. It is this chalky area that makes this grain unique, allowing the grains to absorb unusually large amounts of liquid and hence flavor during cooking. This is also what makes it especially suited to risottos, paellas, dolmades and other Mediterranean dishes.
Basmati— An aromatic long grain rice that has the unusual characteristic of doubling in length but not width during cooking. This dry, separating grain is especially suited to Indian and Middle Eastern dishes, such as curries, pilafs.
Time to hit the comments with some of your favorite rice dishes. I’m curious if anyone makes a good paella. Next week: Soup
Now here’s a little something with brown rice:
Chicken and Rice Wraps
Substitute raspberries, peaches or plums if you like.
- 2 chicken breasts, cooked and cubed
- 1 cup baby spinach leaves
- 1 cup sliced strawberries
- 1/2 cup chopped pecans
- 1 cup cooked brown or wild rice
- 4 large tortillas (flavored ok)
Dressing:
- 1/4 cup Raspberry Dressing
- 2 tbsp mayonnaise
- 2 tsp red wine vinegar
- Fresh mint
Mix together chicken, spinach, strawberries, pecans and rice. Mix together dressing ingredients, toss with chicken mixture. Let sit 15 minutes or more. Roll 1/4 of mixture in each tortilla.
It’s That Time Again
The winter cooking blahs have hit again. I am completely uninspired. Happily, it only last a few weeks and then as I anticipate fresh fruits and vegetables season, my creativity sparks.
I thought I might have a resurgence because while in San Diego we stopped at a farm stand next to an orange grove and picked up fresh oranges and strawberries. Alas, all it did, as I finished off the last orange this week, was make me long for the growing season to hurry up and arrive, but no cooking inspirations.
Come on spring!
Luckily, we have an entire blog’s worth of recipes to choose from. I chose this one: Crispy Potato Chicken. It’s a fun little recipe, and I included the complete menu:
Crispy Potato Chicken with Carrots and Banana’s Foster Ice Cream Dessert
- Crispy Potato Chicken
- Steamed Carrots in butter
- Banana Foster Ice Cream
This recipe originally called for Dijon mustard, I am not a fan, so I always omit it, but I kept it in for this incarnation. You can also add grated Parmesan or shredded cheddar to the potato mixture if you want to change things up a bit.
Crispy Potato Chicken
- 2-3 large potatoes, peeled
- 4 tsp crushed garlic
- 1 tbsp Dijon mustard (opt)
- 4 boneless chicken breasts
- ¼ tsp ea. salt & pepper
- ½ tsp fresh parsley
- 1 tsp dried rosemary
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- ice water
2 bowls & baking dish (8×8), lightly oiled
Shred potato, transfer to bowl of ice water. Rinse & dry breasts, place in baking dish and spread with garlic and optional Dijon mustard. Drain potatoes, pat dry and mix with oil & seasoning in bowl. Spread mixture over the top of the chicken pieces. Bake at 425° for 35-40 minutes, until potatoes are golden brown and chicken’s internal temperature is 185°
This is a quick and alcohol-free banana foster, if you want the real deal, try this Alton Brown recipe
Banana Foster Ice Cream
- 2 large,firm bananas, sliced
- 2 tbsp butter
- ¼ cup brown sugar
- ¼ tsp orange peel
- dash cinnamon & nutmeg
- 2 tbsp orange juice or pineapple juice
- 6 oz sliced almonds
- 4 cups vanilla ice cream
skillet and 4 dessert bowls
Melt butter in saucepan, add bananas, sauté quickly until lightly brown. Add sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, orange peel and juice. Boil until syrupy, stirring constantly to keep from burning. Add ice cream to dishes, top with ¼ of banana mixture each and garnish with almonds.
Shopping List:
- 1 lb carrots
- 3 large potatoes
- 4 boneless chicken breasts
- 2 large, firm bananas
- ¼ cup brown sugar
- 2 tbsp orange juice or pineapple juice
- 6 oz sliced almonds
- 1 quart premium vanilla ice cream
Also: butter, garlic, salt & pepper, fresh parsley, dried rosemary, olive oil, orange peel, cinnamon, nutmeg, optional: Dijon mustard, Parmesan or cheddar cheese
Chicken and Rice Wraps
This recipe takes advantage of what’s available from the garden these days. Substitute raspberries, peaches or plums if you like.
Chicken and Rice Wraps
- 2 chicken breasts, cooked and cubed
- 1 cup baby spinach leaves
- 1 cup sliced strawberries
- 1/2 cup chopped pecans
- 1 cup cooked brown or wild rice
- 4 large tortillas (flavored ok)
Dressing:
- 1/4 cup Raspberry Dressing
- 2 tbsp mayonnaise
- 2 tsp red wine vinegar
- Fresh mint
Mix together chicken, spinach, strawberries, pecans and rice. Mix together dressing ingredients, toss with chicken mixture. Let sit 15 minutes or more. Roll 1/4 of mixture in each tortilla.
Greek Chicken Wraps
Nothing beats a good Greek restaurant for a nice lunch meal. I am partial to pita sandwiches, but it can be difficult in my area to find good, fresh pita bread. So tortillas make a good substitute. In this recipe, you can use spinach or sun-dried tomato wraps to really spark things up. Regardless these are easy and quite flavorful wraps. Perfect for a holiday picnic by the lake.
Greek Chicken Wraps
- 4 boneless chicken breasts, cut into 1” pieces
- 2 tbsp lemon juice
- 1 tbsp Dijon or stone ground mustard
- 2 tsp crushed garlic
- 1 tsp dried oregano, crushed
- 1/8 tsp pepper
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 small cucumber, peeled & chopped
- 4 oz plain yogurt
- ¼ tsp dill
- 2 oz crumbled feta
- 2 oz sliced black olives (opt)
- 4 burrito size flour tortillas, spinach tortillas are a fun choice
- ½ green leaf lettuce, shredded
skillet & bowl
Mix together chicken, lemon juice, mustard, 1 tsp garlic, oregano & pepper in bowl, coating chicken thoroughly, let sit for 30 minutes. Prepare cucumbers, add yogurt, dill and remaining garlic and mix well. Refrigerate until served. Wrap tortillas in foil and heat in a 350° oven for 10 minutes, turn oven off and let them stay warm until served. Heat oil in skillet on medium-high and add chicken and marinade. Cook until chicken is cooked through, about 5 to 8 minutes. To serve, add chicken mixture, yogurt mixture, feta, olives and lettuce to each tortilla and roll up. Use any remaining yogurt mixture to dip tortillas in.
