Foolproof indeed

Boneless skinless chicken breast is an American staple if one eats meat. That said, I don't like making it that much because it always comes out dry or just terribly boring. This recipe has convinced me that I should eat more of it. It's incredibly moist and has just enough other stuff to make it delicious, without ruining the versatility. I made 4 servings' worth of this stuff and will be putting it on a salad tomorrow, stir fry on Thursday, and something else on Friday (I'm flying solo with the kid this week because my husband is taking care of his mother after minor surgery).

Almost Foolproof Grilled Chicken

• 2 pounds chicken breasts
• 4 cloves garlic, chopped
• Zest of one lemon
• 2 Tbsp. fresh rosemary (I skipped this because I wanted versatility and don't love rosemary that much)
• 3 Tbsp. olive oil
• 1/2 tsp. sea salt
• 1/2 tsp. black pepper

In a large bowl, combine all but the chicken and stir thoroughly. Add in the chicken, using your hands to make sure the marinade thoroughly covers the chicken. Allow to marinate at least 30 min (mine was overnight because I have more time to do stuff in the evenings after the kid goes to bed).

 

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Heat a large grill pan over medium-high heat. Once very hot, place chicken breasts smooth side down on pan. Do not touch until caramelized and the chicken releases easily from the pan. This should take 3-5 min. per side.

 

Remove chicken from the grill pan and place on a sheet pan and into the oven to finish cooking, 12-15 min. Chicken is done when the juices run clear. Allow the breasts to rest 5-10 min. Slice against the grain and serve.

 

I served it with Broiled Zucchini and arugula with leftover sherry-walnut vinaigrette. And of course a glass of the wine we didn't finish on Saturday and Sunday.

 

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Summer soup & salad (and wine)

I had a new coworker over for dinner last night. It's been hot (the start of a long summer, I'm told) so I decided to make something cool and refreshing. My new friend said she would eat anything I made but that she doesn't usually eat meat, so I decided to do a cucumber dill soup and roasted beet salad with goat cheese, which we paired with some Torrontes, an Argentinian white wine. The downside to having a guest was that I felt silly snapping photos of the rather beautiful plates, so my only picture is of the leftover soup my husband gobbled up later in the evening.

This only took 5 min of active work (and 30 min letting the cucumbers sweat) so it will be a summer staple for me. The recipe is here.

The salad, Roasted Beet and Goat Cheese with Sherry-Walnut Vinaigrette was a little more work but I made the full 8 servings of dressing and toasted nuts even though we only used 2 so it will be easy to throw together again. I used prepared baby beets but I've roasted beets before and it's not difficult, just a little messy.

 

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I love summer.

It's already hot here and I don't love to cook anyway. So here's my quick, early dinner:

2 eggs, lightly scrambled and cooked in olive oil
Leftover diced tomato
A small handful of arugula (which I recently found out is what they call rocket in the UK), drizzled with lemon-flavored fish oil, sea salt, and ground black pepper
Some canned black beans, rinsed
A small avocado

I had some unsweetened chilled ice tea with it, too. Yum!

By the way, this sort of meal could easily be made vegetarian by drizzling the arugula with olive oil instead of fish oil, or even just lemon juice. I ate it with the egg and it was a really interesting mix of flavors.