GRILLED HONEY-TERIYAKI CHICKEN WINGS

An easy way to cook chicken is to just baste it with bottled Teriyaki sauce and call it a day.  (Teriyaki sauce is a mixture of soy sauce, a sweetener and Mirin, but it can also contain ginger and sesame seeds.  (Cheaper versions will use high-fructose corn syrup as the sweetener, and vinegar in place of the Mirin.  I used Kikkoman Original Teriyaki Sauce, a slightly upscale version of their regular Teriyaki, containing Mirin and no high-fructose corn syrup. )




It’s a little more work to brine the chicken and make a glaze, but the end flavor is worth it, when you have the time.  For succulent, tasty grilled chicken that you would be proud to serve to company, give this recipe a try.

Grilled Honey-Teriyaki Chicken Wings Loosely Adapted from Tyler Florence Rating:  9.5 out of 10 Click for PRINTABLE PAGE

1 quart water 1/4 cup brown sugar 6 garlic cloves, smashed slightly, divided 3 slices ginger root, gently bashed to open up, divided 1 Tbsp. kosher salt 3 sprigs fresh thyme 6 – 8 chicken wings, sectioned, tips discarded 1/2 cup Teriyaki sauce 1 Tbsp. honey 1-1/2 tsp. toasted sesame oil, divided 1/4 tsp. crushed red pepper About 1/2 tsp. black pepper Sliced scallions for garnish Toasted sesame seeds for garnish Combine water, brown sugar, 2 garlic cloves, 1 slice ginger root, 1 Tbsp. salt and 3 sprigs thyme in a large resealable bag; swirl to dissolve sugar and salt.  Add chicken pieces and allow to brine for 1-2 hours in the fridge.  Heat grill to 400F with one burner turned off.  Season grates with a wad of paper towel that has been dipped in vegetable oil.  Make glaze:  In a small saucepan, over medium heat, combine  Teriyaki sauce, honey, 2 slices ginger root, 4 garlic cloves, 1/2 tsp. sesame oil and crushed red pepper.  Simmer until rich and slightly reduced.  Remove chicken from brine; pat dry; place in large bowl.  Drizzle with 1 tsp. sesame oil; sprinkle with black pepper; toss to coat.  Grill over indirect heat on turned-off burner about 20-25 minutes, basting with glaze during last 5 minutes.  Serve garnished with finely sliced scallions and toasted sesame seeds.  Serves 2-3  (Leftovers are great for next-day’s lunch.)

EASY SUMMERTIME GRILLED DINNER

When it’s really, really hot, who feels like cooking?  Not me.  Just a simple grilled sandwich keeps me happy.   A boneless chicken breast, tossed with olive oil, salt and pepper, then grilled with onion slices and sweet green or red pepper, makes a delightful sandwich topped with lettuce and freshly sliced tomato.  Basil pesto-mayonnaise or mayo mixed with sundried tomato pesto are both nice on the bun.  Easy peasy.

Grilled Chicken and Peppers Sandwich Source:  Judy’s Kitchen Rating:  8 out of 10 PRINTABLE PAGE

INGREDIENTS:  1 boneless skinless chicken breast half 2 Tbsp. olive oil, divided 1-1/2 tsp. sea salt, divided 1/2 tsp. black pepper, divided 1 –2  (1/2”) sweet onion slices  1/2 sweet green or red pepper cut into 2” strips 2 slices from a large tomato, 1/4” - 1/2” thick  4 pieces of lettuce pesto mayonnaise 2 Kaiser rolls, split, or other roll of choice optional:  2 slices Asiago or mozzarrella cheese Heat grill to medium-hot (about 400-425F).  Clean and season grill grates.  Pound the fat side of the chicken to make it a more uniform size (this will help it cook more evenly).  Rub chicken with 1 Tbsp. oil, 3/4 tsp. salt and 1/4 tsp. pepper.  Rub onion and pepper slices with 1 Tbsp. oil, 3/4 tsp. salt and 1/4 tsp. pepper.    Place chicken and veggies on grill.  Close lid.  Cook about 5 minutes; open lid; turn veggies and chicken over.    Close lid.  Cook additional 5 minutes, or till chicken is cooked through and veggies are tender.  (Veggies will probably be done before the chicken, and can be removed to a bowl, covered, to keep warm.)  About 1 minute before chicken is done, toast roll on coolest part of grill.  Slice chicken on diagonal (like a London Broil); place slices on roll bottoms.  Top with cheese (if using), peppers and onions, then tomato and lettuce.  Spread tops of rolls with pesto mayonnaise (just mix some sundried tomato pesto or basil pesto into some mayo).  Yield:  2 sandwiches

SWEET-AND-HOT ORANGE WINGS

These wings were a nice change from our usual barbecued wings with John Boy & Billy's sauce. They're a little sweet, a little hot and have a subtle flavor. Guy and I both enjoyed them. We had a mushroom-spinach rice pilaf and a cucumber-green pepper-tomato salad as accompaniments.
My thanks to Southern Living for a great recipe.








Sweet-and-Hot Orange Wings
(Southern Living)
Rating: 9 out of 10

1 cup orange juice
1/2 cup honey
1/4 cup lite soy sauce
1/4 cup ketchup
2 Tbsp. grated or minced garlic
3 Tbsp. fresh grated ginger
1 Tbsp. hot sauce
4 lbs. chicken wings
4 green onions, chopped (optional)

Combine orange juice and next 6 ingredients in small saucepan. Remove 1 cup of mixture to a gallon-size resealable plastic bag; add wings; seal bag and refrigerate at least one hour, or up to 8 hours. Heat remaining mixture in saucepan over medium-high heat; bring to a boil; reduce heat; simmer about 20 minutes, or till mixture is reduced by half; set aside.
Preheat gas grill to medium-high (350-400F); remove chicken from marinade, discarding marinade. Grill wings, covered with grill lid, 20-25 minutes, turning occasionally till chicken is thoroughly cooked. Transfer wings to a serving platter, and drizzle sauce over wings; sprinkle with chopped green onions. Serves 6 (or 12 appetizer servings)

BETTY CROCKER'S GRILLED CHICKEN WITH CHIPOTLE-PEACH GLAZE, adapted

Betty Crocker is not just about desserts. They have some good meal recipes on their website. For instance, this one. It was very tasty, and both fussy Guy and I enjoyed it. Since I didn't have peaches but I did have pineapple, I subbed the pineapple in place of the peaches. I love grilled pineapple. But I also love grilled peaches, just didn't have any at the time. I also used skin-on and bone-in chicken instead of the boneless that the recipe called for. And, lastly, I cut the recipe to serve two, instead of eight.

Betty Crocker's Grilled Chicken with Chipotle-Peach Glaze, adapted for two
Ratiing: 9 out of 10
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INGREDIENTS:
2 Tbsp. peach or apricot preserves
2 Tbsp. lime juice
1/2 chipotle chile in adobo sauce + 1/4 tsp. adobo sauce
2 tsp. finely chopped fresh cilantro
2 chicken breasts with skin on and bone in (or boneless if you prefer)
1/4 tsp. garlic powder (I used McCormick California Style Garlic with Parsley)
1/8 tsp. ground cumin
1/2 tsp. sea salt
1/4 tsp. black pepper
Fresh pineapple or peaches

Heat gas or charcoal grill. In 1-quart saucepan, mix preserves, lime juice, chile and adobo sauce. Heat over low heat, stirring occasionally, until preserves are melted. Stir in chopped cilantro; set aside. Sprinkle chicken with garlic, cumin, salt and pepper.

Place chicken on grill. Cover; cook over medium heat 20-25 minutes, turning once or twice and brushing with preserves mixture during last 5 minutes of grilling, until juice of chicken is clear when center of thickest part is cut (170F). Add pineapple or peach halves to grill for last 5 minutes of grilling, just till heated. Heat any remaining preserves mixture to boiling; boil and stir 1 minute. Serve with chicken and fruit. Garnish with cilantro sprigs.

(Or do what I did: Skewer veggies and fruit and grill alongside chicken during the last 10 minutes, basting with the sauce.)

TOMATO-TOPPED SOLE....OR CHICKEN

Our local Harris Teeter had fresh sole fillets, and they looked too fresh and beautiful to pass up. I usually just do something simple with sole, like just saute them in some butter and wine and top with sliced almonds. But I decided to search for a new recipe. I found this one on allrecipes. As usual, I made some additions and changes to the recipe. But, may I say before we go any further, that this recipe would be much better suited to chicken fillets. The delicate flavor of sole was completely lost with all these heavy ingredients. The ingredients themselves were wonderful, but not with the sole, IMHO. However, fussy Guy loved it. Go figure. You decide whether you want this with sole or chicken (or catfish, or flounder).

Tomato-Topped Sole....or Chicken (for one or two)
Rating: (for the sole: 4 out of 10; for chicken: 9 out of 10)

1/2 small sweet onion, thinly sliced
2 Tbsp. Smart Balance Lite (or olive oil), divided use
4-5 large whole mushrooms, sliced
3-4 fillets of sole (.4 - .5 lb.)
several nice pinches of sea salt (I used McCormick Sicilian Sea Salt)
few pinches of black pepper
1 fresh, ripe tomato, sliced
1 fresh garlic clove, minced
2 Tbsp. white wine
1 Tbsp. lemon juice + 3-4 thinly sliced lemon pieces
2-3 Tbsp. minced fresh parsley

In a small skillet, saute onion in 1/2 Tbsp. Smart Balance until tender. Transfer to a sheet of aluminum foil.
Saute the mushrooms in 1/2 Tbsp. Smart Balance and place them over the onions. Sprinkle lightly with sea salt and pepper.
Add the last tablespoon of Smart Balance to the hot skillet, turn the heat to low and add the minced garlic; deglaze the pan with the wine. Off heat and stir in the lemon juice along with some of the sliced lemon pieces. Put the fillets on top of the veggies, and top with the tomato slices. Lightly salt and pepper the tomatoes and fish; sprinkle the garlic-lemon mixture over everything, then top with the chopped parsley.
Fold the edges of the foil up to make a "pan" for the fish, but do not cover it. Place on a 375F grill and cook with the lid down for about 10-15 minutes, or till fish and veggies are done.

CHICKEN AND SHRIMP SHISH-KA-BOB

Shish-ka-bob is the grill's answer to a one-pot meal. Everything you need for balanced eating is in the shish-ka-bob. Some people have it with rice, but frankly I think it's perfect all by itself.
You can use any vegetables you want, but I really like the traditional: onion, peppers, mushrooms and tomatoes. Of course, the proteins are your choice -- you can use any meat you like, and almost any seafood you like. I used to mix all the components on a skewer, making a very nice presentation. But the problem is not everything cooks at the same rate -- so you wind up with something overcooked and something undercooked, and it doesn't taste all that great. So now I skewer the veggies separately; I also separate seafood from other meats. First, I marinate everything. This time, I used McCormick's Grill Mates Tomato, Garlic and Basil Marinade. I added a touch of seasoned vinegar to it, kicking it up a notch. The chicken went into its bag, and the shrimp went into its bag, then into the fridge. The wooden skewers got soaked in warm water while the protein was marinating.
The veggies can also be marinated in the Grill Mates, but this time I decided to just give them an olive oil, balsamic vinegar, salt and pepper marinade. You really don't need a recipe for this. Follow the directions on the marinade packet. The nice thing about marinating in resealable bags is that you don't have to use a ton of marinade to cover everything. When you close up the bag, pressing out the air pockets, you'll find that just a small amount of marinade goes a long way. I rarely use a whole packet of marinade, because it's wasteful and unnecessary.
When you're ready to grill, put the veggies and chicken on first, but watch them. If you see that a skewer is cooking fast, you can move it to a cooler spot on the grill, or take it off when it's done and let it wait in an oven that's turned off. The shrimp will go on last because it cooks the fastest. I hope you'll make this nice summer meal soon. We have it often in warmer months. It's light, it's easy, and it's oh, so good. Best of all, Guy and I both like it, so I don't have to cook two meals to satisfy us. If you have questions or comments about the shish-ka-bob, just click on the comment link at the end of this blogpost.

CHIPOTLE GINGER-PEACH BARBECUED CHICKEN WITH GRILLED PEACH-CUCUMBER SALSA

Here's another recipe that didn't win a prize but was rated 5 stars by betterrecipes.com.

Chipotle Ginger-Peach Barbecued Chicken with Grilled Peach-Cucumber Salsa
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INGREDIENTS:
½ cup peach or apricot preserves
1 Tbsp. grated fresh ginger (or 1 tsp. powdered ginger)
1 Tbsp. minced fresh garlic (or 2 tsp. minced dried garlic)
¼ cup lemon juice
3 Tbsp. vegetable oil
¼ cup apple cider vinegar
½ tsp. Chipotle Chile Powder
1-1/4 tsp. salt
¼ tsp. black pepper
4 whole chicken breasts with skin

Salsa:
1-1/4 cups peeled, seeded and cubed cucumber
½ cup cubed sweet red pepper
½ cup coarsely chopped Italian flat-leaf parsley (or Cilantro if you prefer)
¼ cup lemon juice
3 Tbsp. peach or apricot preserves
Salt and pepper to taste
2 pinches Chipotle Chile Powder
3 ripe peaches, skin on, cut in half, pit removed
2 Tbsp. honey or maple syrup

Combine first 9 ingredients in large plastic bag. Add Chicken breasts and place in fridge at least 15 minutes. (Best flavor will develop if chicken is marinated in the morning and cooked in the evening, making this a perfect prep-ahead meal.)

Heat grill to medium-high temperature (375-400 degrees F), and place chicken breasts skin side up. (For gas grills, turn one side off and place chicken on the off side with grill lid on. Grill then acts as an oven so that chicken will not burn. For charcoal grills without covers, place coals in a circle, leaving center open. Place chicken in center as much as possible. If some pieces are over coals, be sure to rotate often to reduce flare-ups.

While chicken cooks, prepare salsa by combining all ingredients except peaches. Place in refrigerator, covered, to blend flavors. (Salsa may also be prepared in the morning and allowed to sit in refrigerator to blend flavors.) Cook chicken, basting occasionally with the marinade, about 30-35 minutes, depending on intensity of heat. Turn chicken if necessary to brown evenly on both sides. Chicken will be done when juices run clear and no blood is seen when a knife cut is made in center of piece to the bone. Put chicken on serving platter and keep warm in oven. In the meantime, Brush cut side of peaches with honey or maple syrup and place on grill cut side down. Grill 5 minutes on each side. Remove peaches to cutting board and coarsely chop before adding to salsa. Serve chicken with salsa for a complete meal. Grilled garlic bread or pita makes a nice accompaniment. Yield: 4 servings Hands-on prep time, 30 min.
Total start to finish time, 1 hour 15 minutes