Walk on the Wild Side

Every night, we play the game of “what sounds good for dinner?” I could plan our meals a week or two out, and in fact I have, but the truth is, you never know what kind of food-mood you’ll be in when dinnertime actually rolls around. We have also been very good about spending as little money as humanly possible while still eating healthy and delicious food- we tend to reuse ingredients time and again. Wait, not like that. We don’t actually rummage through the trash for scraps or anything. We have a bit more class that that. But our shopping trips usually start in our own Costco-stocked freezer before resorting to a grocery store trip. Meaning that we have lots of chicken. Bags of it. Frozen and awaiting transformation into some sort of meal.

Now, I love chicken, it’s possibly my favorite protein, just cause it’s so versatile! Andrew, however, has gotten quite tired of my 100-ways-to-cook-chicken routine. “Chicken again?” he remarked sorrowfully as I told him the plan for the night. This recipe, I assured him, would be different. Not your typical grilled chicken and salad dinner. The spicy kick of the paprika, chili powder, cayenne pepper, and cumin mix is tempered with the sweet and tangy honey/cider sauce, which is addicting enough to go back for seconds, and maybe even thirds!  I found that even with the recommended amount of honey, the chicken had too much heat for my taste, but with a few more generous spoonfuls, the balance was perfect. And added to the incredible taste of this dish, is the knowledge that it is just 321 calories per serving!!

We added some Garlic and Rosemary potatoes, a salad and some fresh bread to the meal. If I have ever cooked for you, you know about my love affair with rosemary. It is by far the best herb ever created, and I can’t think of a dish that wouldn’t be improved by a whole handful of fresh rosemary. Something about the smell, or is it the taste, just evokes an image of freshness.  I could devote a whole post to my love of Rosemary, and probably will in the near future, but for now, I will settle for simply saying that these garlic and rosemary potatoes were pretty delicious and made the perfect side dish to my new favorite chicken dish.

Spicy Honey Chicken

2 tsp garlic powder

2 tsp chili powder

1 tsp coarse salt

1 tsp ground cumin

1 tsp paprika

1 teaspoon ground red pepper

8 chicken thighs with skin removed

6 Tbsp honey

2 tsp apple cider vinegar

Preheat broiler.

Combine first 6 ingredients in a large bowl. Add chicken to bowl; toss to coat.

Place chicken on a broiler pan coated with cooking spray. Broil chicken 5 minutes on each side.

Combine honey and vinegar in a small bowl, stirring well.

Remove chicken from oven; brush 1/4 cup honey mixture on chicken. Broil 1 minute. Remove chicken from oven and turn over.

Brush chicken with remaining honey mixture. Broil 1 additional minute or until chicken is done.

Add honey mixture to taste.

Source: adapted from Cooking Light Magazine, March 2007

Garlic and Rosemary Potatoes

3 Roasting potatoes

1/4 cup fresh rosemary, removed from stems

1 clove garlic, minced

1 Tbsp Olive oil

salt and pepper to taste

Heat large frying pan to medium/high.

Chop potatoes into 1 inch pieces.

Pour oil into hot pan and wait for it to heat. Add garlic and rosemary and stir until becomes fragrant.

Add potatoes to spice mixture and stir frequently. Allow a light brown crust to form on potatoes, then reduce heat to medium-low and cover. Cook for 20 minutes or until potatoes are cooked through.

Source: My own head 

An Exercise in Excess

Whew! The piles of food have disappeared, the cases of drinks diminished, and our tiny abode is nearly back to its usual organized chaos. Don’t be fooled by the clean counter tops and uncluttered floor; behind every curtain, inside every drawer, and beneath the mattress lurk piles and piles of our belongings which we have, for whatever reason, decided are absolutely necessary to our survival during our three month stint in Madison.

But I digress. This particular tale begins 48 hours ago, with an epic shopping trip to Costco. We volunteered to host a company sponsored BBQ in the backyard of our hotel. Number of hungry consultants? Twenty(ish). Budget? Undefined. If you know anything about the consulting industry, you know that the good people that travel more than half their week work hard and play harder.  They are a fun bunch of people with discerning tastes and a hearty appetite for food and drink. I wasn’t about to serve frozen burgers with American cheese, oh no. In typical Emi fashion, with lots of input from my man, I may have gone a bit overboard in my menu planning. Ok, who am I kidding, WAY overboard.

THE FINAL MENU

Grilled Corn

Potato Planks

Grilled Zucchini and Red Peppers

Salad

Mashed Potatoes

Garlic Bread

Filet Mignon

Rib Eye

Baby Back Ribs with homemade BBQ sauce

Robin Hood Chicken

Chicken Sausage

Once all the party supplies made it to the room, which was an adventure in-of-itself, the fun part began. I attacked the ribs first, breaking them down into small enough pieces to jam into our tiny (toaster) oven. Then comes the marinade. I know it sounds crazy, but the trick is Dr. Pepper. The acidity of the soda tenderizes the meat while the sugar adds sweetness without becoming too sickly sweet. Cover the ribs with soda, and add a quarter cup of salt and a few dashes of chili powder, cover with foil and pop in the fridge overnight.

Next on the list is the Robin Hood Chicken, adapted from Grilling Magazine. The citrus in this recipe enhances the natural flavor the meat and helps get the skin crispy on the grill. My favorite spice by far is rosemary, and combine that with fresh oregano, parsley, some olive oil garlic and lime…mmmmm. I don’t think you can beat this rub in marinade.

The day of the big feast is a busy one. As Andrew can attest to, I am not a calm, cool, collected chef. My kitchen is awash in burned fingers, time crunch stress, and sometimes even a flying curse or two. In matter of a few hours, I have pulled together some semblance of order, and am ready to get everything on the grill. Now I am no grill master- the agreement was that I do the prep work and hand it off to a much more skilled griller than I. But as many agreements go, the terms seem to inexplicably change as the night wears on, and I found myself in charge of flipping, heat moderation, and perfecting the doneness of steak and chicken alike. Battling tear inducing smoke, waves of blistering heat and droves of hungry diners, I managed to do a pretty good job of feeding our guests. From the number of compliments it received, I think the ribs were the biggest hit, followed closely by the steaks, cause lets be real, who can pass up filet mignon?? All in all, I’d declare the night a success, although I hope it is a few weeks before I attempt another meal of this caliber.