Chicken Under a Brick

So the time has come to actually tell people that I have a blog and what do I make? Big dilemma in the Morgan household. "Something beautiful, but not pretentious. It has to be healthy, but not too "granola"...don't want to scare all of these lovely midwesterners with my greens and whole grain lovin'. Will they actually believe me that I can cook? Will anyone read and/or care?"   

Then I realize, I need to spend less time thinking about what other people will think and just make something TASTY. So where to I end up? Friggin' chicken. My best effort to impress people apparently involves the most basic of meats and fancy tools like bricks from my patio and aluminum foil. 

Bring it culinary blog world!

Face the whole chicken with bold bravery. Breasts up and find a backbone (heard that one before, right?). Sharp knife from front to back and remove the backbone. From there, put some muscle into it and split the chicken. Raise your hands and knife in primal victory!

Time to make some flavor paste. Rosemary from my back stair garden, Herbes de Provence, grainy mustard and garlic. Mix together with lemon juice and olive oil. Don't get too crazy though, should be a paste, not a liquid-y marinade.

Make peace with the chicken you've severed by giving it a nice rub. You're friendly like that.

Let the paste and chicken hang out in the fridge for a few hours. Add a bit more olive oil and prepare for chicken to meet brick.

Here's where you get really crafty... find two bricks and wrap in foil. Or in my case, steal two bricks from the crumbling fire pit thing in your shared back patio.

Preheat your grill until screamin' hot. Seriously, you want a good sear on these babies. Put the chickens breast side down and then place a heavy skillet on top and with your brick in the pan. Snazzy right?

It may look a bit ghetto, but this serves a real and important purpose. Your pan and brick when get hot on the grill, thus cooking your chicken from both sides. This cuts your cooking time and keeps the chicken juicy. And it makes your neighbors think you're weird.

After 40ish minutes on indirect high heat, you'll have this glorious bird. Crispy edges, moist insides.

Let the chicks rest and pull off the bone. Enjoy solo or on top of salad. We had with Blue Cheese Arugula Potato Salad.

So this is what I've got...friggin' chicken. I could say something really thoughtful like, this is my personality on the plate or simplicity is the essence of all things good. But in all honesty, this tastes really great. That's all I've got... friggin' great chicken.

Chicken Under a Brick
Whole chicken (about 4lbs), split
2 tablespoons rosemary, chopped
1 tablespoon Herbes de Provence
2 tablespoons good mustard
2 tablespoons lemon juice
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

Combine paste ingredients and rub down both sides of chicken. Allow to marinate for several hours (or overnight). Remove chicken from fridge about 20 minutes before beginning grilling. Place chicken breast-side down on VERY hot grill. Place heavy skillet on top of chicken and put foil-wrapped brick in pan.

Cook chicken over indirect high heat for about 40 minutes, or until juice run clear. Do not turn chicken during cooking. Allow chicken to rest for 5 minutes before slicing.

Adobo Pork Chops with Pineapple Salsa

Sun was shining and the grilled beckoned. The sun woke me up chipper and the plan for the week was made: 

• Adobo Pork Chops with Pineapple Salsa and Black Beans with Rice
• Grilled Chicken Greek Pitas
• Caprese BLTs 

Lists were completed and groceries collected. The warmth drove me to char-grilled flavor and crunchy vegetable bite. 

The pork marinade started with canned chipotle chilis with adobo sauce. One of my favorite things in cans. The spice is subtly burned my fingertips, building anticipation for the meal to come.

The chipotle chilis made friends with cider vinegar, garlic, oregano, S&P.

Marinade meets meat and the two partied together all afternoon.

Fun and fresh salsa was prepared, the sweetness would cool the chipotle chili, surely.

Pineapple, green onions, tomatoes, jalapeno, cilantro and lime juice. What a colorful bowlful.

Marinaded pork hit the grill on medium, direct heat. Approx. 6 minutes per side.

The sun set on my third-floor kitchen, light too beautiful to capture.

Cuban black beans and leftover brown rice set the stage. Fresh, fruity and spiced. Tasting the summer to come.

Adobo Pork Chops with Pineapple Salsa
Interpreted from Weber's Big Book of Grilling
For the Marinade:
2 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
2 chipotle chilis in adobo sauce
1 tablespoon adobo sauce (from the canned chilis)
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1 teaspoon dried oregano
S&P

4 bone-in pork chops, 1-inch thick

For the Salsa:
2 1/2 cups diced pineapple
1 1/2 cups diced tomato
2 green onions
1 jalapeno pepper
2 tablespoon chopped cilantro
2 tablespoon fresh lime juice
salt

Combine marinade ingredients and brush on both sides of meat. Marinade four to eight hours. Combine salsa ingredients.

Grill room-temp chops over direct, medium heat until juices run clear, about 12 minutes. Remove from grill and allow to rest. Serve warm with salsa, over black beans and brown rice

Spinach Artichoke Stuffed Shells

Still dreary in Chicago. I'm ready for caprese and grilled goodness, but the rain is keeping the sunshine away. Even the dog is over it. Making the most of these last cool days and hoping it's the last time I'll crank up the oven until after Labor Day. This false hope may just be the Missouri girl in me, thinking spring should be 80 degrees and full of red buds. Hopeful led to hearty this Sunday with stuffed shells, chock full of lean turkey, spinach and artichokes. Recipe inspiration from Giada, but gave it my own groove (and showed less cleavage than she does).


Marinara was called for. Nothing beats the real thing. I started with my mise. 

The goods. Onions, garlic, celery, carrots, tomatoes, olive oil, red wine, S&P, bay leaves and chili flake. 

The chili flake makes this. The need for heat. 

Don't forget the wine. Layers of Montelpuciano flavor. 

Now for your filling. Ground turkey, artichoke, fat free ricotta, parm, two eggs, garlic, basil, spinach and onion. 

Artichokes somehow look alien and artful at the same time. My husband may love them more than me. 

I browned my turkey with onion and garlic, added the artichokes and spinach in the last two minutes. Let it cool. Patience chickadee.

Combine your ricotta, egg, parm and basil. 

 Smoosh it all together. Make sure your turkey is cooled. 

Marinara on the bottom of your pan. 

Stuff your cooked pasta shells with the turkey cheese mixture. It will be messy and somehow soothing. 

Arrange however you think is pretty. Don't take photos of the shells that you overstuffed and cracked. Focus on the good ones. They'll all taste wonderful. 

Top with sauce and shredded mozzarella. Think about old timey casseroles and potentially fool yourself that you made lasagna, just for a minute. 

Wait in anticipation and chop some basil to distract yourself. Hmmm...what kind of cocktails would this be good in? Wonder how on earth you skipped a mint julep on Derby Day. Seriously, how did you miss that? Bring it back... pasta is almost done. 

Melty and bubbly. Officially hungry. 

 All up in the kitchen in my heels... dinnertime. Thanks Beyonce. 

Manly Meal

This Sunday we were host to two of the husband's best friends. This, of course, called for a manly man meal. Steaks to be grilled whilst playing cornhole in the back yard. General grunting and trash-talking.


The Menu: 

• Marinated Ribeyes with Mustard Butter
• Baked Sweet Potato Fries
• Grilled Asparagus

Definitely not the most adventurous meal I've ever cooked, but it's a classic for a reason. 

I started with a marinade for the gorgeous steaks. The Weber Big Book of Grilling is a family favorite and my father claims it taught him "everything he knows" so naturally it was a birthday gift for my husband this year. The recipe is the "Sizzling T-Bones with Mustard Butter." The T-bones looked funky at the store, so ribeyes it was!


Marinade:

• 1/4 cup worchestershire sauce
• 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 4 teaspoons minced garlic
• 4 teaspoons paprika (I used pimenton I brought back from Barcelona. Killer yummy)
• 2 teaspoons light brown sugar
• 2 teaspoons kosher salt
• 2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper

Pour deliciously slow over your steaks and marinade for a few hours. Check out that beautiful marbling. 

Started some sweet potato fries so the steaks wouldn't get lonely. Just love the color. 

To be really luxurious, I made butter to put on top of the steaks... mustard butter. 

• 1 tablespoon whole grain dijon mustard
• 1 tablespoon smooth dijon
• 6 tablespoons butter

Combine until lovely.

We were ready to do some grilling. Asparagus was dressed in olive oil and balsamic before hitting the flames. The balsamic caramelizes on the grill until sticky and syrupy.

Steaks sizzled on high, direct heat (pre-heating the grill is key). They were thin ribeyes, so only about four minutes per side until they were perfectly medium rare. While the steaks grilled, I roasted the sweet potatoes with cumin and cinnamon until toasty. 

A classic manly meal, but with some extra special twists. 

The Sunday Plan

With a busy week ahead, including evening activities and a guest in town, menu planning and Sunday prep time was a must. After an insano day at work, the last thing I want to do is think...about anything really. Let's be honest all I want is my glass of red, stretchy pants and a delicious meal. When I plan I also avoid fat-kid take-out. 


Here's what's on the docket for this week: 

• Jambalaya with Andouille, Double Veg and Brown Rice
• Double-Broccoli Quinoa
• Hoisin Pulled-Pork Tacos with Cilantro Sesame Slaw

Typical Chicago, it was only 40-something degrees in late-April, so I was craving something warm in a bowl. I started with Ina Garten's Shrimp and Sausage Jambalaya recipe, but then went to work on my own tweaks. Because really how fabulous is it to give it your own touch? (Note the Ina-esque rhetorical question asking). 

Here's how you do it: 

1 tablespoon olive oil 1/2 pound Andouille sausage 6 slices bacon 1 tablespoon butter 1 medium onions 1 cup celery 2 green bell peppers 2 red bell pepper 1 can diced tomato 3 garlic cloves 1 jalapeno pepper 1 tablespoon oregano 1 teaspoon fresh thyme 2 tablespoons tomato paste 6 cups chicken stock (I'm a stickler for homemade) 2 cups brown basmati rice 3 bay leaves 2 teaspoons kosher salt 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper 6-8 dashes Tabasco (optional) ½ cup chopped scallions ¼ cup freshly squeezed lemon juice 1/2 pound shrimp

Heat the oil in a large Dutch oven (love me a Le Creuset), add andouille and bacon and cook until toasty. Remove sausage and bacon, take a moment to admire the gorgeous bacon fat in your pan and then add your chopped veg. Cook until everything softens up and add the spices and tomato paste. Once combined, add chicken stock and bring to a boil. Stir in rice, bay leaves, S&P, hot sauce and sausage and bacon mixture, cover and simmer for 20 minutes. Add scallions, lemon juice and shrimp and stir. Here's where we get nuts, turn off the heat and let it sit covered for 15 minutes. Promise this will perfectly cook your shrimpies.   I had the time, found a good Pandora station and hit my kitchen groove...so I really got to work. A little extra time today will save me the stress during the week too.  For my double-broccoli quinoa (recipe courtesy of 101 Cookbooks), I made the "pesto" and cooked-off the quinoa today. All I will have to do during the week is steam my broccoli, heat the pesto and quinoa and chop an avocado. I'm snazzy like that.  Final product to come! I'm also going to be crock-potting up some hoisin pulled pork... so I butchered my pork shoulder and whipped up some hoisin sauce. All I'll have to do on Thursday morning is throw in the meat and sauce with some fresh ginger and hit go! Might even have the husband do it. This recipe is one of my faves for houseguest... cheap, easy and people think it's fancy because of the sauce. It will be perfect in corn tortillas for the guys later this week.  Let's get saucy.  Let the delicious foods distract you from my unmanicured nails.  Alright Monday... give me all you've got. I shall be running on Jambalaya. ~Carey