Tag: grilled chicken
Grilled Chicken with Plum Sauce
I am very proud of this recipe. Some friends were coming over for a barbecue and I wanted to grill chicken.. maybe with some barbecue sauce… but I had recently read an article about how much sugar there is in bottled barbecue sauces. I wanted to make my own but make it a bit different.. so, I decided to use the plums in the sauce. That would be the main flavor mixed in with some onion, garlic, orange juice and of course some smoked paprika. I added a bit of honey to balance the flavors and came up with a delicious sauce. I marinated the chicken in some spices and basted it with half of the sauce. I served the rest of the sauce with the cooked chicken. It tasted amazing… definitely try this sauce next time you are in the mood to grill…
- 4 to 5 black plums, cut into 1 inch wedges
- 1 small yellow onion, chopped
- 3 garlic cloves, chopped
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- ½ cup orange juice
- ¼ cup honey
- 2 teaspoons smoked paprika
- Salt
Heat a small saucepan with the olive oil. Add the onion and garlic and sauté for 2 to 3 minutes on medium heat. Add the plums, orange juice, honey and smoked paprika. Bring to a boil and lower the heat to a simmer and cook for 15 minutes. Take off the heat and add to a blender till smooth. Transfer to a bowl and check for seasonings. Divide in half and use one half to baste steak and chicken and serve the other half with the cooked meat.
Leftover Quesadilla
I love, love creating something completely different with my leftovers in the fridge. I had the grilled chicken and plum sauce from yesterdays posting. I decided to reuse them through the week and create quesadillas. My favorite tortillas to buy right now are the habanero lime ones from Trader Joes. They are not super spicy but have a nice kick to them.
It was a very quick meal to put together which is very convenient through the week. I paired it with some mild mozzarella cheese and the quesadillas were delicious. I served an avocado salad and a glass of refreshing Rose!!
- Left over grilled plum chicken, cut into bite size pieces
- Left over plum barbecue sauce
- Shredded mozzarella cheese
- Tortillas of choice
- Olive oil
Heat a non-stick pan with the olive oil. Add the tortilla. Place the shredded cheese and the chicken pieces on the tortilla. Drizzle some sauce and top with the other tortilla. Cook well on both sides or till the cheese melts. Cut and serve with salsa.
Chicken Breast with Kumquats
This was a great dish to make. Someone mentioned kumquats a while ago and how the didn’t know what to do with them. Kumquats look like tiny little oranges. They are quite tart if eaten raw but provide a great tangy citrus flavor if cooked correctly. It reminded me of a chicken and kumquat dish I had at Spice Market in NYC. It was a very memorable and delicious meal- I am sure the yummy cocktails helped a lot.
I started thinking of that dish and decided to look it up online. After a lot of visualizing, I came up with this recipe. I first put the dressing together. I was able to get fresh lemongrass at whole foods. The kaffir lime leaves are available at the Asian stores. I bought a big pack and have them stored in the freezer. These two flavors are quite important to this dish.
I coated the chicken with a spice mix and marinated it for a few hours. All together, this dish has a few steps but it is very worth it.
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Balsamic Grilled Chicken with Tomato Salad
I would make this dish if you want to impress someone. It looks beautiful with lots of vivid summer colors. It is an overall winner of a recipe. It is super easy to make and best of all it is very healthy, low in carbs.. but the important thing is that you don’t feel that it is low in carbs. My main goal as the cook in the house is to incorporate as many healthy and varied ingredients as I can in any meal I serve.
Tomatoes are in abundance right now and I love buying the grape variety. They are very sweet and burst in the mouth and best of all, delicious! I cut them up and added some salt, garlic, olive oil and basil. I let the juicy tomatoes sit for a while so they can get even juicier. I marinated chicken breasts that I pounded super thin with balsamic vinegar, salt and pepper. You can buy thin breast cutlets in the store but they are more expensive than the regular breast. I quickly grilled the chicken.. it literally took two minutes on one side on a very hot grill. I also put together an arugula salad with a delicious homemade apricot dressing.
The meal was simply delicious… perfect for a summer barbecue…
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Second Day- Tokyo- The Asakusa Area
We went to the old part of Tokyo today, better known as the asakusa area. We saw the Senso-ji temple which is one of the oldest and most popular temples. It is surrounded by a line of small outside shops full of trinkets, snacks and clothes- did I mention the snacks?? My husband was a bit concerned since we had no idea what we were eating- but I just wanted to try everything. The snacks were mostly rice based and even the sweet stuff was not too sweet. We also had a cup of delicious, chilled green tea- probably not the kind you get in the bottled stuff back home.
As we walked, we kept looking at all the restaurants. Japanese food is very visual- most places have pictures of all the dishes served- good for people like us who don’t know the language. We finally ended up at this crowded, small restaurant and were quickly ushered upstairs. As we climed up, we were given a choice of sitting on the stools or mats on the floor. We quickly took our shoes off and sat down to rest our tired feet.
A friendly man came over and said hello. He explained there were no food photos- I waived my hands indicating ‘never mind’. We ordered rice and shrimp tempura with miso soup for my husband and a bowl of soba noodles with pork in a curry broth.
My husband enjoyed his beer as I ordered sake- actually it is called nihonshu. He suggested I enjoy it hot- and it was delicious.
We finished our leisurely lunch and decided to check out the Imperial gardens. Turns out they are huge. To get to the gardens, we walked through the financial district and stumbled upon a little square full of people and restaurants. We sat down in the shaded area and saw a French bakery. I got a madeline for my husband and a burnt milk (caramel) ice cream- one of the best ones I have had.
After an hour rest back in the hotel, we decided to head back to the Shinjuku area to have dinner. There are restaurants on multiple floors of buildings, so you have keep looking up and down to see where you want to go. We decided on a place on the third floor- completely random- the pictures looked good. It turned out to be a place that serves grilled chicken (different parts) and a few other things.
We took our shoes off and were lead into a dark, loud eating area. We sat down and were given a menu with some English- very helpful. We ended up getting a bunch of things- it was tapas style.
Most of the dishes were good- the tofu was exceptional. So were the chicken meatballs. We left there quite happy and picked up a pastry on our way back to the hotel. I didn’t realize how prevalent bakeries are in Tokyo- full of them. The pastry was delicious and so was the good night sleep. Tomorrow we are off to the fish market- stay tuned for my adventures there…
Grilled Chicken with Couscous Salad and Vegetables
Grilling days are coming to an end. Although last year I continued to grill outside regardless of the weather. The ingredients change- all the peppers, zucchinis and tomatoes don’t taste as good in the fall and winter.
I felt like making something healthy yet substantial. I had chicken breast in the fridge which I pounded thin and put them away in a marinade.
I love making couscous and always buy the whole wheat one from Trader Joes. I decided to make it a little different this time and sauteed some pancetta- a little goes a long way. I then cooked the grain in chicken broth- both ingredients impart tons of flavor. Once the couscous was cooled I tossed tomatoes, basil, garlic and balsamic vinegar and tossed it like a salad. My plan was to serve it on top of the grilled chicken.
I used similar ingredients to marinate the vegetables and grilled them till they were golden brown and sweet. It was a delicious meal. It was light, healthy yet quite filling. We enjoyed it with a bottle of Malbec Rose.
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