Summer's BEST: Latin Grilled Chicken

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California cuisine is all about eating fresh.  Since our state is full of agriculture, local ingredients are treasured and are in abundance and often paired with lean meats or seafood.  Regional cultures are also a big influence in the dishes.

Today's recipe is influenced by all the Mexican culture around us in Los Angeles.  Bold savory spices mixed with bright citrus flavors hit all the right flavor notes when mixed together.  Since it's summer and we want to keep the heat out of the kitchen we are going to do some grilling outdoors.  Our go to meat is usually chicken, but this recipe would work well with fish or pork too.  To impart the most flavor in the chicken it is important to marinate it in a mixture of spice, acid, and oil.  Then the chicken is left to soak up all the flavors and produce a succulent and flavorful piece of meat.

Let's talk ingredients.  When cooking on a weeknight simple is best.  Cumin (a wonderful spice used in many Latin dishes) is used for the spice (salt & pepper to taste) along with lime juice as the acid, and a good olive oil.  This makes the BEST Latin flavored marinade.  This is all you need!  Trust me, this packs such a flavor punch that you won't believe it. 

It's all about the marinade!  You also want a quick marinade time for weeknight cooking.  So take out your chicken and place it along with the marinade in a sealable bag and leave it on the counter to come to room temperature about 30-45 minutes before grilling.  This will give it a quick, but powerful marinating time to seal in the flavors in the chicken.  A good marinade is the basis for flavoring your meat!

So did I mention that this dish is EASY to make?  It practically makes itself!  Really, this will become a go to recipe in your house this summer.  It's great during the week or on the weekend for entertaining.  This dish does it all!  

Enjoy!










Latin Grilled Chicken

Serves 4

1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 lime juice, fresh squeezed
1 Tablespoon ground cumin
salt & pepper
4 chicken breasts, boneless, skinless

In a large re-sealable bag add the ingredients for the chicken marinade and the chicken breasts.  Close tightly and toss to coat all the pieces.  Place the chicken mixture on the counter for 30-45 minutes allowing the chicken to come to room temperature.

Preheat a gas grill to medium high heat.  Remove the chicken from marinade (discard marinade) and grill, turning once, until the center is no longer pink and reaches an internal temperature of 160 degrees.  About 8- 10 minutes depending upon the thickness and size of the chicken breasts.  Transfer chicken to a platter and allow to rest 10 minutes.  Serve.

Easy Entertaining Chicken Souvlaki Platter

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Boy am I glad it's the weekend!

It was a long week at work and what better way to start the weekend than with a small gathering around the pool with good friends.

When you entertain, especially on a weeknight, you want to make something that is quick and easy.  This calls for some refreshing drinks, a nice fruit bowl, and some easy to eat appetizer finger food.

I'm finally revealing my famous recipe, Easy Entertaining Chicken Souvlaki Platter.  Imagine plump, juicy chicken breasts marinated with Greek flavors such as lemon, garlic, oregano, and wine. This easy summer dish turns finger food up to a new level.  Make sure to add Lavash strips as a vessel to hold the chicken, and a bowl filled with chilled, refreshing Tzatziki for dipping.  Oh man this is HEAVEN!

A quick 1 hour marinade is necessary to impact bold, bright flavors in the chicken.  Once that is done, it's easy sailing and 15 minutes to the best finger food dish around!  You can grill the chicken outside like we did, or you can use a good sturdy grill pan on the stove.  (Options, I love that!)

Keep the chicken whole to begin with so they remain moist inside.  Once you let them rest you can cut them into bite size pieces.  We served them with Lavash, a middle eastern unleavened bread that is perfect to use as a dipping devise for the chicken.  You could easily substitute pita wedges if you like.

All in all the weather was balmy last night, but the food was outstanding.  This dish is packed with flavor, and we enjoyed each and every bite.    

Don't miss out!  Summer is going by quickly and we should all take advantage of long evenings gathered with friends and of course, fabulous food like my Easy Entertaining Chicken Souvlaki Platter.

Enjoy!









Chicken Souvlaki Platter

serves 4-6

3 Tbs. extra-virgin olive oil

2 Tbs. dry white wine

1 Tbs. lemon juice

1/4 cup minced yellow onion

1 garlic clove, minced

2 bay leaves, broken or chopped into tiny pieces

1 tsp. dried oregano

Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste

1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken

Lemon wedges for garnish

Parsley, chopped for garnish

Lavash, cut into strips

Tzatziki, for dipping

In a bowl, stir together the olive oil, wine, lemon juice, onion, garlic, bay leaves, oregano, salt and pepper. Add the chicken and turn to coat evenly. Cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.  

Prepare a medium-hot fire in a charcoal or gas grill or preheat a cast-iron grill pan over medium-high heat.

Remove the chicken pieces from the marinade.  Place the chicken on the grill rack 4 to 5 inches from the fire or place in the hot pan and grill, turning once, until the chicken is opaque throughout, 4-5 minutes per side. Season with salt and pepper.

Remove to a cutting board and allow to rest 5 minutes.  Cut chicken into 1 inch bite size pieces.  Place on a platter along with the Lavash strips, and a bowl full of tzatziki for dipping.  Garnish with lemon wedges and parsley.  Serve immediately.

Blackberry Jalapeno Glazed Pork Tenderloin with Roasted Vegetables

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Let's amp up your game for this grilling season!

BIG, BOLD flavors is what it's all about.  So I turned to the master of flavors that are "off the hook!" Guy Fieri and searched for the perfect recipe to present to you today.

BLACKBERRY JALAPENO GLAZED PORK TENDERLOIN 

THIS is the recipe of the SUMMER!!!  If you make only one new grilled dish this summer make this one.  Otherwise you will be missing out on a dish that totally knock your socks off.  This spicy sweet Blackberry Jalapeno glaze covers a juicy grilled pork tenderloin that elevates this dish to outstanding!

I modified his recipe just a bit.  He brines his pork tenderloin first.  Since I think that a pork tenderloin is tender and juicy as it is I skipped that part.  Plus it made this quicker to prepare and it came out fantastic without the brine.  

The sauce really is the kicker to this dish.  Something this bold needs to have a great side dish that compliments it without overpowering it.  Roasted vegetables are the perfect side dish for that.  I chose multi-colored carrots of yellow and orange, along with fresh green beans, and cauliflower.  (MGG loves his cauliflower!)  Roasting is easy to do so this side dish basically takes care of itself while you grill the pork.

This dish is outrageously good!  Try it at your next opportunity and double it if you want to invite friends over.  Great for Father's Day or any celebration, or just a weekend cookout.  You will be the envy of the crowd, and the new master griller in town!

Enjoy!

Blackberry Jalapeno Glazed Pork Tenderloin with Roasted Vegetables


Pork:
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper
1 1 1/2 pound pork tenderloin, silver skin removed

Blackberry Jalapeno Glaze:

1 tablespoon unsalted butter

1 to 2 roasted jalapenos, seeded, minced

1 tablespoon chopped garlic
1/2 cup seedless blackberry preserves
1 1/4 cup wine, preferably Merlot
1/2 teaspoon cornstarch

Vegetables:

1 head cauliflower
1 small bunch of multi-colored carrots
1/2 lb fresh green beans

Make the Blackberry Jalapeno Glaze:
Add the butter to a saucepan over medium-high heat. Once melted, add the jalapenos and garlic and saute for 3 to 4 minutes. Stir in the blackberry preserves and 1 cup wine and combine well. Simmer until reduced by half. Add the cornstarch to the remaining 1/4 cup red wine in a small bowl and mix well. Pour the cornstarch mixture into the pan and cook for 5 to 6 minutes more. Keep the glaze warm until serving.

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

Prepare the vegetables by cutting the stalk off of the cauliflower and cut into florets. Place on a sheet pan along with the carrots. Make sure not to overlap. Place in the oven and cook for 15 minutes. Remove pan from the oven and flip the vegetables and add the green beans. Return to the oven for another 10-15 minutes until caramelized.

Meanwhile preheat a grill or grill pan to medium heat.

Add the pork tenderloin to the grill and cook for 6 minutes on each side, browning evenly and the internal temperature registers 135 degrees on an instant-read thermometer. At this point, evenly spread 1/4 cup of the glaze over the pork. Cook for an additional 4 to 5 minutes. Remove the pork from heat to a cutting board and keep it warm tented with aluminum foil. Temperature should be around 155 to 160 degrees.

Slice the pork, arrange the slices on a serving platter and serve with remaining warm glaze and roasted vegetables.

adapted from Guy Fieri's Blackberry Jalapeno Glazed Pork Tenderloin

Mixed Cheese & Cracker, Crudite Platter with Fresh Dill Dip

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Man oh man, the days are just flying by!

The end of the year is a few days away.  I've barely recovered from Christmas!  But I really love New Year's Eve.

For the last several years our tradition has been to go out for a nice romantic dinner at one of our favorite neighborhood restaurants. The restaurant used to be an old house and each year we sit in the front windows and watch all the twinkle lights as we eat some wonderful food.   It's typically raining which just adds to romantic ambiance of it all.

I'm sure that we will keep this tradition up this year as well.  I've already heard that rain is in the forecast of course!  However, I'm going to mix it up just a bit by having a Mixed Cheese & Cracker, Crudité Platter with Fresh Dill Dip before we leave.

Served with my Pear Sparklers this is the perfect little snack to have pre-dinner while sitting around the Christmas tree.  We keep our tree up each year through the New Year just to enjoy it for an additional week. 

MIXED CHEESE & CRACKER, CRUDITE PLATTER WITH FRESH DILL DIP

This platter mixture is easy to put together.  Make the dip ahead (recipe below) and refrigerate it for a couple of hours to let the flavors blend.  Cut up some crudité like carrots, celery, cucumbers or anything you have on hand such as broccoli florets or sliced bell peppers.  Add some cheese and crackers to round it out and arrange it all on a platter to have guests help themselves. 

It's simple and easy, yet it's a good way to have some quick appetizers.  You can adjust the amount to feed a crowd or a few people for an intimate gathering.  It's all up to you.

Enjoy!
Have a safe and happy New Year!






Fresh Dill Dip

makes 2 cups

1 cup sour cream
1 cup mayonnaise
1 tablespoon chopped onion
1 tablespoon fresh parsley, chopped
1 tablespoon fresh dill, chopped
3/4 teaspoon kosher salt

In a small bowl mix all ingredients together until well combine.  Refrigerate dip for at least 1 hour before serving so flavors will blend.

Apple Crostata

Boy, do I have a dessert that is going to make you cheat on your diet!  I know, I know, most of us have a resolution that involves eating healthy, me included, but you will want to stray from the healthy bites for just a moment.

For New Year's Eve I made an Apple Crostata from the Ina Garten's cookbook "Barefoot Contessa Parties! and I noticed that I forgot to post it so that you can see for yourself how outstanding this dessert is.  It's heaven!

A crostata is a rustic pie.  It only has a bottom crust.  How easy is that?  Can't you just smell the scent of baked apples with gooey cinnamon?  Oh, it just fills your house with warm homey smells that remind me of my mom's baking.  I just love quick desserts that are easy to make.  This variation of a down home classic is a winner!

What drew me to this recipe was the method.  This is more of a "french crumble" apple pie.  Ina takes all the spices, flour, sugar, and butter and makes a crumb out of it, then just spreads it over the top of the apples.  So being completely different than most apple tarts, and pies, it was calling my name.   

Wow! Was this apple crostata good!  You just have to forgo the dieting and make this right now...I tell you it is worth cheating for.

Now, I did make a few adjustments from Ina's original recipe. Mainly the apples I used, which were Granny Smith.  I also left out the allspice (don't care too much for it) and I added just a touch of boiled apple cider.  This is completely optional, and it just provides you with a little more apple flavor, but you certainly don't have to have it.  Just so you know, you can purchase it here.

Take some time out to enjoy this scrumptious treat.  You can diet next week!



Apple Crostata (Serves 6)

slightly adapted from Barefoot Contessa Parties! by Ina Garten,


1 pre-made pie crust
1 1/2 pounds Macintosh, Macoun, or Empire apples (3 large) (I used Granny Smith)
1/4 teaspoon grated orange zest
1 Tablespoon boiled cider
1/4 cup flour
1/4 cup granulated or superfine sugar
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) cold unsalted butter, diced

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees.

Flour a rolling pin and roll the pastry into an 11-inch circle on a lightly floured surface. Transfer it to a baking sheet.

For the filling, peel, core, and cut the apples into eighths. Cut each wedge into 3 chunks. Toss the chunks with the orange zest and boiled cider. Cover the tart dough with the apple chunks leaving a 1 1/2-inch border.

Combine the flour, sugar, salt, cinnamon, and allspice in the bowl of a food processor fitted with a steel blade. Add the butter and pulse until the mixture is crumbly. Pour into a bowl and rub it with your fingers until it starts holding together. Sprinkle evenly on the apples. Gently fold the border over the apples to enclose the dough, pleating it to make a circle.

Bake the crostata for 20 to 25 minutes, until the crust is golden and the apples are tender. Allow to cool. Serve warm or at room temperature.


source: Copyright 2001, Barefoot Contessa Parties! by Ina Garten