Wish Upon A Chef

I fell off the blogging wagon last week and I'm sorry that I let you down, my faithful reader(s).  I should be tarred and feathered and sent to my room with no dinner.  Or maybe just tarred and feathered because I've got some really good stuff cooking on the stove today. 

I made a resolution at the beginning of this year that I would publish a blog post here at Wish Upon A Chef every week of the year.  It was my attempt to be more attentive to my blog and to get back into the kitchen to do the things that I love.  I even have this little Post-It Note list in my desk drawer that I derive great pleasure from when checking off each week after I publish.  Sort of like the chart of chores that you do for your kids and award a gold star for each chore accomplished.  I kept my resolutions for 19 weeks before I failed. 

As week 20 rolled around, my house became chaotic while I had some painting done and on top of that, I was all excited about packing for my weekend beach trip. The week came and went and it dawned on me while en route to the beach and the TomTom was taking me off-course through corn fields and desolate towns that I totally forgot to publish.  No gold star for me. 

But perhaps you'll forgive me if I share my recipe for these tasty Teriyaki Tailgate Tenders.  The Boy Toy and I tailgated at the Charlotte Knights baseball game with some friends and I brought these along so I wouldn't have to suffer the digestive indignity of eating a hot dog.  I noticed that even the kids were gobbling them up.  You can certainly use the marinade for chicken breast halves if you're just hanging around the house using the grill - you'll just need to grill them a bit longer.  These would also work great as an appetizer served with maybe a sweet and sour sauce or hoisin sauce for dipping.  I took along a simple pasta salad and made some happy and full tailgaters. 



Teriyaki Tailgate Tenders

1/2 cup soy sauce
4 tablespoons honey
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
Juice of 2 limes
2 teaspoons minced garlic
2 teaspoons chopped fresh cilantro
Chicken tenders (I made about 20 skewers)
Wooden skewers

In a small bowl combine soy sauce, honey, vegetable oil, lime juice, cilantro and garlic. Thread tenders onto wooden skewers and marinate for at least 30 minutes or overnight.  Cover them while they are marinating.  After I threaded the tenders onto the skewers, I placed them in a 9x13 baking dish with the ends of the skewers resting on the sides of the baking dish. This prevented the whole skewer from being submerged in the marinade and getting all messy. I marinated overnight and turned the skewers occasionally to make sure the chicken was coated.  To make them easier to transport, I removed the skewers from the marinade and transferred them to a large disposable plastic container. 

Grill over medium high heat for 6 to 8 minutes on each side or until juices run clear.

The marriage of a fired up grill on a warm summer day with a piece of chicken equals nothing short of a match made in heaven.  The relationship gets even better when the chicken is marinated with the simplest of ingredients that you probably already have on hand in your pantry and turns out tender and juicy every single time. 

This combination of ingredients is my go-to marinade for grilled chicken every single time.  I always let it sit overnight but it would probably be just as good only after a few hours.  Try it and see if it doesn't become your summer grilling favorite!

Marinade for Chicken
source:  Food Network Kitchens

2 tablespoons vinegar (cider, balsamic, red or white wine)
3 teaspoons dried Italian seasoning
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
2 teaspoons garlic powder or onion powder
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

Put the vinegar, Italian seasoning, mustard, garlic (or onion) powder and oil in a large re-sealable plastic bag.  Close the bag and shake to combine all ingredients.  Open the bag and drop in the chicken breasts.  Close and shake the bag to coat the chicken evenly.

Marinate overnight in the refrigerator.  If using previously unfrozen chicken breasts, you may freeze the chicken in the marinade for up to 2 weeks.  Thaw overnight in the refrigerator and prepare as desired.  

Heat a grill or grill pan.  When the grill is hot, place the chicken on the grill and cook for about 4 minutes per side, or until cooked through.  You can also bake the chicken in a 375 degree oven for about 15 minutes, or until cooked through. 

I realize in these tough economic times people are making an effort to trim expenses in every area possible but it just pains me to see articles and recipes touting the ability to feed your family for just pennies per serving. Don't get me wrong - saving money on food is great and all, but some of the stuff being pushed is just plain garbage! Boxed items laden with sodium, sugar, and enough preservatives to equal nothing short of embalming fluid. Alot of the recipes are cheap inexpensive simply because they are full of carbohydrate fillers like rice and pasta. Again, don't misunderstand me - I am a carb junkie - but I know that moderation is the key and I don't believe in eating something just because it costs mere pennies.

Okay, okay...I'll get off of my soap box now. I guess my main gripe about all of this is, why would you want to fill your own body, the Divine Temple, with cheap garbage? There just has to be a better way to eat more economically and keep it healthy.

The first step toward eating more economically is to watch the weekly grocery sale papers. I've never been one to shop numerous stores each week based on what they have on sale, but that is most certainly an option. Clipping coupons will also save a few cents here and there. Recently, my beloved Harris Teeter had London Broil on sale and I saw that as the perfect opportunity to test my theory, seeing as how it is a relatively inexpensive cut of meat.

The term London Broil actually refers to a method of preparation and not the cut of meat. Most often it is a top round roast or flank steak and characteristics of a London Broil recipe call for marinating the beef, broiling it to medium rare in an oven or grilling on a BBQ grill. Once it's cooked, the meat is sliced thinly, across the grain, at a 45 degree angle. Alot of time London Broil gets passed over because it has a reputation for being a tough piece of meat and people equate this to mean cheap = bad. Not so, folks...you just need to start out with an awesome marinade! The one that I use was garnered from a message forum that I frequent but I believe it originated with the pint-sized chef, Sara Moulton.

I marinated the meat overnight and grilled it to medium rare on the BBQ - about 7 minutes on each side - then served it fajita-style with onions and bell peppers that had also marinated in the same stuff and were sauteed on the stove. Add dollop of sour cream, some shredded cheese, salsa and a few tortilla chips and you've got dinner for less than $3 per serving. About as cheap as Taco Bell and OH! soooo much better.....


The Perfect Marinade for Pretty Much Anything

4 large cloves garlic, minced
4 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
4 tablespoons lemon juice
3 tablespoons Dijon mustard (or spicy brown)
1-1/2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1/4 teaspoon of dried each oregano, basil, thyme
1/2 teaspoon dried red pepper flakes
2/3 cup extra virgin olive oil (make sure you use a decent one as it is the main flavor of this marinade)

Stir all together very well, then place the meat in a zip lock bag and add the marinade*. Squeeze air out and seal and place in bowl (to prevent leaks) and marinate for 12 hours or overnight.

*If you plan to serve this as I did, reserve some of the marinade to marinate the veggies separately.