Q: What happened when the butcher backed into his meat grinder?
A: He got a little behind in his work.
Fire up the grill and make this simple yet elegant meal. The sugar and spice coating on the chicken cooks up sweet with just a hint of heat. It’s so good with the Dijon-Chive dipping sauce.
For the perfect side, grilled asparagus gets livened up with the zesty caper salsa and a sprinkling of soft goats cheese. Yum.
Sweet And Spicy Grilled Chicken Breasts
Ingredients:
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
2 tablespoons dark brown sugar
2 teaspoons ground coriander
1 ½ teaspoons kosher salt
1 ½ teaspoons dry mustard powder
¼ teaspoon cayenne
1 ½ tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, more as needed
4 tablespoons Dijon mustard
2 teaspoons minced fresh chives
Directions:
1. Place chicken breasts between two sheets of parchment or wax paper. Using a mallet or rolling pin, pound each to an even thickness of about a 1/2 inch.
2. In a small bowl, combine sugar, coriander, salt, mustard powder and cayenne.
3. Place chicken breasts in a bowl and rub well with spice mixture. Cover and refrigerate 1 to 2 hours. Remove chicken from fridge while you heat the grill.
4. Light the grill or turn a gas grill to high. Once grill is fully heated, brush breasts lightly with olive oil and place chicken on the grill. Cook until bottom of chicken is about halfway cooked, 3 to 5 minutes. Flip breasts and grill until cooked through, 3 to 5 minutes more.
5. Transfer chicken to a platter.
6. In a small bowl, whisk together mustard and chives. Whisk in 1 1/2 tablespoons oil. Serve chicken with mustard for dipping.
Serves 4
Recipe from The New York Times
Grilled Asparagus With Caper Salsa
Ingredients:
3 bunches asparagus, approximately 1 pound, woody ends trimmed and discarded
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
Kosher salt and freshly cracked black pepper to taste
¼ cup capers, drained, rinsed and patted dry
Grated zest of 1 lemon
2 teaspoons lemon juice
1 small garlic clove, minced
⅓ cup parsley leaves, roughly chopped
½ cup crumbled soft goat cheese
Directions:
1. Bring a pot of water to a boil over high heat. When the water boils, add the asparagus, and blanch for 1 minute. Drain the asparagus, and rinse it immediately under cold water. Drain the asparagus again and place in a medium bowl, with 1 tablespoon of the oil. Season with salt and black pepper. Mix gently and set aside.
2. Light a charcoal or gas grill over high heat. Once it is hot, add the asparagus in batches, and grill for approximately 2 to 3 minutes, turning a few times, until the spears are lightly charred. Transfer to a large platter with all the tips facing in one direction.
3. Meanwhile, make the salsa. Mix together the capers with the remaining tablespoon of oil, the lemon zest, lemon juice, garlic and parsley. Add the goat cheese to the mixture and stir gently. Spoon salsa over the asparagus to serve.
Serves 6
Recipe from The New York Times
We are going full-out ballad today.
“I’ll Never Let Go” is from the soon to be released debut EP from Nashville-based artist Mr. Byrd. Sung quietly in his lovely voice, the lyrics pop right out at you.
Check out Mr. Byrd on Facebook where you can keep tuned on where to buy the music.
Cheers!
