Friday, September 05, 2008

Real Recipes

I am going to try and start a new feature this week called Real Recipes. The name might change before I'm through with it, but for now, this is what I'll call it. Every Friday, I am going to step away from cards and instead focus on something else I love. FOOD! I love to cook, and I love to share with other people those foods/recipes that work for my family. The recipe I'll share each week will be one that is a winner with us--in other words, we've tried the recipe and LOVED the results.

The first recipe I am going to share with you is one I got from my friend Kathie Baumgart (actually, Kathie is my SIL's friend, but I've gotten to know her via my SIL and now consider her my friend too!). Kathie is an amazing cook. When I was out in VA visiting this past May, I had dinner at her house one night. She and her husband jack made a grilled chicken that was to-die-for! Honestly, it was the best chicken I had ever eaten, and I've eaten TONS of chicken in my lifetime because I love it. It was the juiciest, tenderest, most flavorable chicken ever. I made it a few nights ago using boneless chicken thighs. The key is marinating it for some time (I marinated mine for about 5 hours), and grilling it s-l-o-w-l-y. My husband put the chicken on the 2nd tier of our grill, had the burners on low, and cooked it for about 30-35 minutes. Depending on your grill, that time will differ for everyone. Use the cooking time as a guide only. Chicken with bones will take slightly longer to cook than a boneless piece of meat.

For a little extra sass, I toasted some sesame seeds in a saute pan until browned, and then I sprinkled the seeds over the chicken once it was plated up ready to be served. Oh my word, every single one of us LOVED it, and wanted to eat more. Unfortunately, I only made six small thighs, which wasn't enough food for all of us. Even my picky Eldest Son loved the chicken. And the smell is unbelieveable!!! Heavenly, truely.

One last little tip for you. I know many people don't have fresh ginger in their homes. But my friend Kathie told me she buys fresh ginger and then freezes it. When she needs some, she takes it out (frozen), and uses a grater to grate the ginger for her recipe. Here is the tool I used to grate my ginger the other night. Oh my, can I tell you I LOVE this little gadget? The curved design of the microplane grater is soooo fun. I used it for the lime zest as well. The curved design allows whatever you are zesting or grating to pool up until you are ready to slide it out with your little finger. I bought this little gadget for my hubby for a stocking stuffer this past Christmas, and I have to say, it's turned out to be one of my favorite little tools!

Well, I hope you like my new Real Recipes feature for Fridays. It's nice to be able to step away from cards for a minute or two and concentrate on fun recipes instead. I needed the change of pace. Let me know what you think!

Hugs,
Amy

16 comments:

  1. Anonymous10:41 AM

    Hey, Amy =)
    Can't speak for everyone, but I think it's a fantastic idea...thanks for sharing! I'll have to try it sometime...
    D =)

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  2. I LOVE getting tried and true recipes from people's blogs. I think this is a FANTASTIC IDEA, and this is another reason to get excited for Fridays! Love it!!! Keep it up and I LOVE the real recipes title!!! Will have to try this, although I am one that doesn't buy fresh ginger. I like the freezer idea though! Yumm-o!!! Can you tell I really like this friday idea???? Hmmm...big hugs, lisa k in tx

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  3. Love this idea, Amy. Even when people live in different geographic areas, recipes which circulate are different, too. Thank you for this fabulous idea and the yummy chicken recipe!

    barb

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  4. I love this idea too since I love to cook and bake.

    And we love our microplane too! In fact, we have two of them. We also have the one that does a coarser grate. I think every kitchen needs at least one. I did see the ribbon grater on the sur la table site and might need to pick that up.

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  5. Anonymous12:04 PM

    What great idea...who doesn't need more recipes, esp for chicken!!! TFS and can't wait to try it!

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  6. Anonymous1:07 PM

    I'm all for recipes on Friday. And this one sounds yummy! Thanks.

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  7. GREAT idea!!! I love great new recipes...I can't wait to try this marinade on chicken...might even be good with pork loin!! Thanks for the recipe.

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  8. you want to know what i think, so i have 2 words for you: YUM O!

    i'm going to give this a try, perhaps even this weekend. we live near a tyson chicken processing plant, so i go to the company store and get chicken in 20 lb. boxes for cheap. needless to say, we eat A LOT of it, and having different ways to fix it is great.

    i like the idea of not always doing cards too. the pressure to come up with something to post regularly can diminish the joy of crafting. share away, honey! we'll enjoy eating what you dish up!

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  9. Ok, so I'm reading that you're going to share recipes and I'm thinking how I LOVE the idea and I can't wait to see what the recipe is. I get to the end and... no recipe! So I scroll up and down a bit looking for a link... no recipe! Then suddenly - DUH! There it is! On the artwork! Fabulous idea. I will look forward to this on Fridays. Next time maybe I'll even know where to find the recipe! :-)

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  10. What a great idea Amy! I look forward to next Friday!

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  11. Anonymous5:10 PM

    I think it is great idea and will be picking up everything at the store to try it tomorrow!!

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  12. That sounds great I like asain food. I have one for korean chicken tenders and it has soy sauce and white vinegar sauce there is this and other good recipes and tips at www.cookingandgrillinoutdoors.com

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  13. This looks delicious! I'll definatley try it AND I'm going to get a microplane! Have a great weekend.

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  14. Sounds scrummy - I have some chicken breasts and a lemon - if I get some coriander I am sure I have the other stuff. Don't make the recipes with too american ingredients please or we won't be able to 'play along' her in the UK!

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  15. my chicken is marinating right now and i'm looking forward to tasting it tonight! tfs...

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  16. Sorry to be lame, but is there a difference between the "tbsp" and the "TBSP" abbreviations in your ingredient list? The recipe looks fun, but I don't want to have a bad first experience by not understanding the measurements.

    Thanks!

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