Let’s cook!

Grilled Chicken with Tomato and Olive Relish

2 boneless, skinless chicken breast

1 teaspoon ground fennel seed

1 teaspoon kosher salt

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

1/2 teaspoon ground pepper

olive oil

3/4 cup diced tomaotes

1/4 cup diced celery with light green leaves

1/4 cup diced black olives

1/4 cup diced green olives

2 teaspoons minced fresh thyme

1/2 lemon, juiced

Preheat grill on high. In a small bowl combine fennel, garlic powder, salt and pepper.

Add the chicken to the bowl and coat the chicken well and let rest (I forgot to take a picture of this).

In a large bowl add tomatoes, celery, green and black olives, 2 tablespoons olive oil, thyme, salt and pepper.

Mix well and let rest.

Place the chicken on the grill and cook with the lid closed as much as possible.  I cooked the chicken 5 minutes per side.

Remove from the grill and let rest for 5 minutes.

Time to plate! For this meal I made white rice and sweet peas. To complete the main dish, spoon the relish over the chicken and pour some of the lemon juice on top before serving.

Here is a close-up:

Happy Cooking!

Let’s cook!

Butterfly A Whole Chicken

Have the legs up and facing you. Using kitchen scissors cut long the back bone on one side.

Now do the same for the other side.

Using a pairing knife remove the cartlidge around the breast.

Using your hands push the meat away from the ribs and push up on the bones to remove from the chicken.

Once the ribs are remove fold the chicken in half and you now have a butterflied chicken.

Grilled Butterflied Chicken with Lemon and Garlic

1 whole chicken, butterflied

1/2 cup canola oil

3 cloves of garlic, chopped

3 tablespoons chopped fresh thyme

1 lemon, zested

1/2 onion, chopped

1 tablespoon crushed red pepper

salt and pepper

In a bowl whisk together the oil, 2 tablespoons of the chopped garlic, 2 tablespoons of the thyme, chopped onion and half of the lemon zest.

Add the chicken to a shallow dish and pour the bowl contents over the chicken. Coat the entire chicken.

Season with salt and pepper. Cover and let marinate for 1 hour or up to 6.

Preheat the grill on medium. Season the chicken with red pepper flakes and place on the grill, skin side down.

Cook for about 15 minutes and then turn. Close the grill and continue grilling for anotehr 20 minutes.

Remove from the grill and let sit for 5 minutes before cutting. Mix together the remaining garlic, thyme and lemon zest.

Sprinkle over the chicken and serve.

Happy Cooking!

Let’s cook!

Grilled Chicken and Grilled Potatoes with Roasted Garlic-Oregano Sauce

5 yellow potatoes, clean the outside to remove dirt

4 boneless/skinless chicken breast

7 cloves garlic

1/4 cup white wine vinegar

2 tablespoons fresh oregano leaves

2 tablespoons fresh parsley leaves

1 tablespoon honey

1 cup olive oil

1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes

salt and pepper

Place the potatoes in a pot of hot water with 1 tablespoon of salt. Bring to a boil over high heat. While the potatoes are cooking, time to make the sauce. Roast garlic in a saute pan.

Remove the oregano and parsley from the stems.

Combine garlic, vinegar, oregano, parsley, honey and salt in a blender.

Blend until smooth. With the motor running, slowly add 3/4 cup olive oil and process until emulsified.

Pour the sauce into a bowl and stir in red pepper flakes.

Pre-heat grill on medium heat. Brush the chicken with olive oil and season with salt and pepper.

Do not cook the potatoes all the way through because you will continue to cook them on the grill. I allowed the potatoes to boil for about 15 minutes. Drain well and let cool enough to handle.

While the potatoes are cooling time to start grilling the chicken.

Let the chicken cook for 7 minutes before turning. This is when I go inside (cool off) and slice the potatoes in half. Add the potatoes to a bowl, coat with olive oil and season with salt and pepper.

Turn the chicken over and continue grilling until just cooked through, another 5 – 6 minutes. A few minutes before the chicken has finished cooking, place the potatoes on the grill, cut-side down and cook for about 2-3 minutes.

Turn over and continue grilling about another minute. Remove the chicken and potatoes to a platter.

Plate with potatoes and chicken. While the chicken and potatoes are still hot drizzle with the gralic-oregano sauce (Jen made snap peas as the veggie side).

Here is the close-up:

So there you have another way to grill up that breast of chicken!

As mentioned in my post from Friday, here are a few pictures from our dinner with our friends Devin and Brooke.

The biggest ribeye which I bought at Whole Foods:

Here is the steaks resting in my special 24 hour marinade method (notice the size of the guys steaks to the right compared to the ladies on the left).

Here is a picture of just the guy steaks from the grill:

And here is a picture of our guests:

They helped me with Jen’s party and I owe them both big time! Thanks again you two!

Happy Cooking!

So let’s cook!

Grilled Chicken with Shiitake Mushroom Vinaigrette

1 package shiitake mushrooms, remove stems

6 tablespoons canola oil

1 teaspoon whole-grain mustard (a must have for the kitchen if you ask me)

3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

4 tablespoons fresh chopped parsley

2 bone-in, skin on chicken breast

1 small shallot, diced

salt and pepper

Heat your grill on high.

In a bowl add 4 tablespoons of canola oil and add mushrooms. Season with salt and pepper.

In another bowl whisk together shallots, vinegar, olive oil and parsley until combined.

In a small dish add chicken breast and coat with the remaining canola oil and season with salt and pepper. Let rest.

Place on the grill, cap side down and grill the mushrooms until light brown, 4 to 5 minutes.

Turn the mushrooms over and cook through for 3 to 5 more minutes. Remove from the grill and place on a cutting board.

Chop the mushrooms and add to the bowl of vinaigrette. Stir in well and let set while you grill the chicken.

Place the chicken on the grill skin side down and grill until golden brown, 5 – 8 minutes.

Flip over, reduce the heat to medium, close the cover and continue grilling for about 10 minutes longer. Remove the chicken from the grill and let rest for 5 minutes or until the internal temperature gets to 165 degrees.

Time to plate. Place the chicken on a serving dish and top with shiitake vinaigrette.

Here is a close-up:

Now the pictures don’t do justice to how AWESOME this chicken tastes and I really hope you try this one out. Now if you don’t like mushrooms you can still use the mustard based vinaigrette.

Jen and I have only one more day till VEGAS and we are looking forward to it. Tomorrow night will be a simple dinner but I will feature the whole meal instead of the main dish. I have been asked over 20+ times a day to feature main dishes but tomorrow I will include a whole meal. Keep the request coming at thecookinghusband@gmail.com

Happy Cooking!