Showing posts with label Grilling. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Grilling. Show all posts

Tuesday, August 14, 2012

Arugula Pistachio Pesto Chicken

As much as I love to cook it is still nice when someone else cooks for you. Phil cooked the roast chicken tonight as he usually does when we have roast chicken. We either do a beer/soda can chicken in the oven or just recently rotisserie the chicken on the grill. Phil has gained a lot of confidence in cooking over the past few years as he cooks a lot at the firehouse. He has gotten a lot of compliments on his dishes that he makes at work. When he first started cooking for me at home he would get super nervous about everything and wouldn't take his eyes off the food in the kitchen as it cooked. I really enjoy when he cooks for me, everything always comes out great, especially from the grill! And it is nice to be able to relax and let someone else make a nice meal for you.

After we got the grill for our anniversary, we bought a rotisserie for it. So we have now been making our whole chickens on the grill. They come out really juice and have a nice crisp skin. The recipe that Phil made tonight we saw on Guy's Big Bite on the Food Network. Guy is Phil's favorite chef on the Food Network because he is always adding a lot of spice and flavor to the dishes he makes, which is Phil's type of food to a T. Phil has made this chicken before and it was awesome the first time but was a little bit too salty. So he did not use any salt and it came out much better. This is a great recipe when you are wanting to change up a traditional roast chicken.

Arugula Pistachio Pesto Chicken
Recipe adapted from Guy Fieri

1 Whole chicken
1 1/2 freshly cracked pepper
3 cups arugula
2 tablespoons minced garlic
1/2 cup lemon juice
1/2 cup grated Parmesan
1/2 cup shelled pistachios
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon butter

Preheat grill to high.

Slip your fingers under the breast skin of the chicken and gently create a pocket the length of both breasts.

In a food processor mix arugula, garlic, pepper, lemon juice, Parmesan, olive oil and pistachios. Pulse until well blended.

Gently work the pesto under the breast skin. Rub the chicken all over with 1 tablespoon of butter. Rub any remaining pesto on the outside of chicken.

Tuck wings under bird and truss chicken.

Put chicken on the rotisserie and grill indirect (leave burner directly under chicken off) for 40 minutes on high. Reduce heat for final 20 minutes to medium.

Print Recipe

This recipe is linked on: Show Me What You Got Tuesdays, Slightly Indulgent Tuesdays, Tasteful Tuesdays, Totally Tasty Tuesdays, Trick or Treat Tuesdays, Tempt My Tummy Tuesday

Thursday, August 9, 2012

Thai Marinated Chicken Skewers with Peanut Coconut Sauce

Cookbook Recipe #9

I heard about this cookbook on Ree Drummond's blog "The Pioneer Women." I figured if Ree likes Alice Currah's recipes then they ought to be good!. After I saw Ree's post about Alice's new cookbook I went and looked at her website and printed out several recipes that I thought looked awesome, so I ended up getting the cookbook. I love when cookbook authors write a little story about why they make certain recipes. I think it makes the cookbook seem so warm and personal and I want to make the recipes from it so much more. Savory Sweet Life is a great cookbook in that Alice explains when and why she made each recipe for different holidays and occasions.

This recipe was way outside the box for me. I have always been a simple flavors cook, but recently I am trying to branch out and try new things. I have seen so many recipes that call for using curry powder and I always pass them up because in my head, I definitely would not like curry powder. I saw this recipe and I figured that curry powder used in a marinade may be a great way for me to test out the flavor. I found I liked curry powder!

This was a very flavorful dish. I especially loved the peanut coconut sauce, which is also something I did not think I would ever make myself. It was nice to have something completely different in our dinner mix. It says that you can marinate the chicken for at least an hour or overnight. I like to marinate as long as possible to get the best flavor, so I marinated it overnight.

Thai Marinated Chicken Skewers
Recipe from Alice Currah's Savory Sweet Life



3 boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1 inch cubes
1/4 cup soy sauce
3 tablespoons firmly packed dark brown sugar
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
2 tablespoons oil
1 tablespoon curry powder
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1 teaspoon ground ginger



Mix together all ingredients besides chicken in a medium  bowl. Add chicken and stir to coat. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and marinade overnight.

Preheat grill to high heat.

Place chicken cubes on skewers.

Grill indirectly for 15 minutes or until chicken is no longer pink.

Serve with Peanut Coconut Sauce.


Peanut Coconut Sauce

1 13.5oz can coconut milk
1/4 cup creamy peanut butter
1/4 cup dark brown sugar
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 1/2 teaspoon red curry paste

Combine all ingredients in a medium saucepan and cook on medium for 3 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Serve with Thai Marinated Chicken Skewers.

Print Recipe


Tuesday, July 10, 2012

Grilled Chicken with Homemade BBQ Sauce

Cookbook Recipe #5



When you were a kid did you ever go into the kitchen and make a disgusting concoction of random ingredients and then tell your friends you would give them some amount of money to drink the whole thing? We would do that at my house all the time and I would always put the liquid smoke in it because as a kid I always thought it smelled sooo gross. When I was getting the ingredients together to make this barbeque sauce it reminded me of those days as a kid, as the recipe calls for liquid smoke. I actually thought it smelled pretty good when I took a whiff before adding it to the sauce!


Isn't it so gratifying when you make something homemade and you try the first bite it actually tastes like something you bought in a store? Its the best feeling when you can make it from scratch on your own. There are not a lot of things that I like to make from scratch, but I do like to make my own sauces and marinades once in a while. So, I thought I would try my hand at making homemade barbeque sauce.

When I am making things for the first time I like to make the recipe pretty close to the original, have a taste, and then make it more my own. The original recipe for this barbeque sauce was really good, but I still wanted to manipulate it a little bit, so I added some garlic. I would probably add garlic to most things if I thought it would go well because I love it so much. I thought garlic would be a good twist to straight barbeque sauce, and it was.....the sauce came out great. All the ingredients in this recipe are things I have on hand all the time, so I am going to try to make it a point to make my own sauce more often.

This was a tag team dinner again with my husband as I made the sauce and he grilled the chicken. We are really getting some good use out of the new grill!

Grilled Chicken with Homemade Barbecue Sauce
Adapted from the Deen Brothers Cookbook: Recipes from the Road



1 cup ketchup
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
2 tablespoons orange juice
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon liquid smoke
1 tablespoon mustard
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1 teaspoon onion salt
Mix of chicken pieces (thighs, drums, wings, breasts)


Preheat grill to 350 degrees. 


Mix everything but chicken together in a bowl. Brush chicken pieces with sauce. 


Grill indirect for 40-50 minutes until chicken is cooked through. If you like your chicken crispier, after it is fully cooked, grill direct for 5 minutes each side.  Brush chicken with barbeque  sauce every 10-15 minutes while grilling. 



Print Recipe


Wednesday, June 27, 2012

Marinated Chicken Kabobs



My husband Phil and I received a new grill for our one year anniversary from our parents so we are really trying to grill out more often. Phil is the Grill Master and I do the cooking/baking/food prepping. It has been awhile since we have made good kabobs and this is one of my favorite ways to make them.

Most people who know me know that I HATE onions! I will put onion flavoring on things but I can't stand eating them. So most recipes you will see me post do not have any onions in them. Most people would say that is a sin in cooking because onions add all the flavor, but I believe and I think the people who I cook for can agree (unless they are lying to me), that I can make great food without the inclusion of onions. There are a few times where I will include them in a recipe, but if and only if  they are large enough for me to see and pick them out. I know, I can be a little crazy at times. For a foodie, as I would call myself, I can be picky about my food.

This kabob recipe is one of "the" recipes that the onions get added...more for Phil's sake (he likes onions.....sorry hun). I like to make these the night before so they can marinate really well....and for the fact that they can take awhile to prep. 


Marinated Chicken Kabobs


Ingredients:

- 1 white onion
- 1 red pepper
- 1 zucchini
- 1 carton of fresh mushrooms
- 3 boneless skinless chicken breasts
- 1 bottle sun-dried tomato vinaigrette

The evening before you want to grill the kabobs assemble and marinate them. Assemble the kabobs in whatever order you prefer on skewers. Place all completed kabobs on a cookie sheet. Top with entire bottle of marinade and cover with aluminum foil. Place in refrigerator overnight.

Preheat grill to medium high. Grill indirectly for 20-25 minutes until chicken is cooked through.

Makes 6 kabobs
Printable Recipe