Grilled Chicken with Avocado Tomatillo Salsa

I’ve discussed the well stocked kitchen.

Having jars of wonderful things in your fridge ready at a moments notice to make a fast meal.
Makes life so easy.


Here‘s a typical evening at the Red Brick Ranchero.

Come home from work.

Thaw chicken thighs.

Walk 45 minutes. Come in and find that Costco has called and your new specs are ready. Which is a good thing because you can’t see to cook.

Go pick up glasses.

Come home.

See that precious dog has taken cat food bowl and torn it up because she wanted to go to with you or she wanted the cat food.

Note to self, take dog with you when you go to Costco.

Grab Roasted Pepper Vinaigrette (something you made last week and was so wonderful you know it will rock on the chicken) out of fridge and marinate chicken thighs for thirty minutes.

Start National Treasure 2 on DVD player.

Start grill.

Pause movie.

Chop avocado, tomatillos, squeeze lime, pick cilantro. Start movie. Pause movie.

Grill chicken. Start movie.

Grab lettuce. Pause movie. Bring chicken in.

Chicken on lettuce, drizzle a bit of vinaigrette over chicken. Top with avocado tomatillo salsa.

Light candles. Eat.

Start movie… at the beginning.

Every night should be so easy.

Grilled Chicken with Avocado Tomatillo Salsa
Avocado Tomatillo Salsa
Adapted from Bobby Flay Boy Meets Grill

1 avocado, peeled, pitted, chopped
2 tomatillos, peeled, washed so they’re not sticky, chopped,
Red onion…take a knife and slice paper thin..about 4 small slices and chop.
1/3 cup cilantro, torn
1 lime, squeezed
Coarse salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste.

Mix well. Makes about 1-½ cups.

4 boneless chicken thighs, marinated in ½ cup Roasted Pepper Vinaigrette. Season with coarse salt and freshly ground black pepper

Grill til done, takes about 4 minutes per side.

Red leaf lettuce, a couple of pieces per plate.
Put chicken on top of lettuce, a drizzle of the vinaigrette and top with the salsa.

Serves 3 generously.

Grilled Chicken with Avocado Tomatillo Salsa

Frank's Grouper with Mango Salsa

Our good friend, Frank, he of the to die for short rib post, does a mean grouper. He does it so well, it’s all you want to eat for the rest of your life.

Or at least you think so while you’re eating it.

The original recipe was created by Frank and his sister in law, Margaret, on a family trip to Florida where the weather was rainy,the children were wild and grouper was plentiful. Late one evening while enjoying libations, they discovered they were starving and the following recipe was born.

Grouper fillets coated in crushed peanuts and garlicky bagel chips sautéed til golden brown on both sides and run in the oven for 10 minutes to cook to perfection, then topped with a bright mango, yellow pepper salsa. What a combination.

Final pics of this dish exist but I can’t get to them. So you’ll have to put up with teaser photos and imagine how beautiful it was…nutty brown with bright yellows and oranges on top of the perfectly cooked fish.

Growing up, my mother always said you should leave a little bit on your plate to be polite.

Not with this dish.

Nope.

Won’t happen.

Frank’s Grouper with Mango Salsa

8 good sized grouper fillets, seasoned well with coarse salt and freshly ground black pepper
3 eggs, beaten with a bit of milk…enough to coat sides of the grouper
A cup of all purpose flour
Butter
Extra virgin olive oil
4 ounces dry roasted Spanish Red Peanuts
½ bag New York Style garlic flavored bagel chips

Preheat the oven to 375.

Chop the peanuts and the garlic chips in a food processor well mixed.

Put in large roasting pan.

Put several large oven proof skillets on stove over medium-medium high heat. Swirl extra virgin olive oil in each pan and add large pat of butter.

While that melts, dredge the grouper in the flour, egg mix and the peanut mix on both sides. Put grouper in the pan as you finish and cook til golden brown on both sides. Put skillets in the oven and bake for 10 minutes.

Top with mango salsa and serve.

Serves 8.

Mango Salsa

2 large mangos, peeled and chopped
1 large yellow pepper, chopped
1 large orange pepper, chopped
Juice of 2 limes
Handful of fresh cilantro, chopped
1 fat garlic clove, minced
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Mix and let sit and think while you do the grouper.

Makes 2 cups.

Frank's Grouper with Mango Salsa

Grilled Lamb Chops with Salsa Tapenade

We’re back.

Vacation was filled with good food, friends and family.

It was better than ever.

Coming home to a gorgeous Middle Tennessee spring with summer on the way was even better.

We’re taking a brief respite from seafood.

For about a day.

But what a way to take a break by having some grilled lamb chops, fresh asparagus and a great salsa to top the chops, using my homemade Tapenade with some happy additions.

It’s good to be home.

Salsa Tapenade

2 tbsp black olive Tapenade*
½ cup roasted red bell peppers
1/4 cup chopped fresh Italian parsley
2 tbsp capers
A good splash of balsamic vinegar
¼ cup sun dried tomatoes in oil, chopped

Makes about ¾ cup.
Combine and serve on top of the grilled chops.



The Chops
4 good sized lamb chops, seasoned with a good squeeze of fresh lemon juice, coarse salt and freshly ground black pepper

Grill 4 minutes per side.
Serves 3.


Black Olive Tapenade

¼ cup toasted pine nuts
1-¼ cup pitted Nicoise olives
1 tbsp garlic confit (or 4 fat garlic cloves, peeled)
4 anchovy fillets
¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
Freshly ground black pepper

Put pine nuts, olives, garlic, anchovies and olive oil in food processor and pulse off and on til thick but not mush. Season to taste with freshly ground black pepper.

Makes about 1-½ cups. Keep top covered with olive oil and this will last indefinitely in the refrigerator.
Yes, this appeared several weeks ago. Versatility is its middle name!

Grilled Lamb Chops with Salsa Tapenade

Artichoke Heart and Toasted Pine Nut Salsa on the Perfect Salmon Fillet

I’ve branched out.

I managed to prepare a seafood dish without the pig.

It was difficult. Prosciutto would be absolutely divine in this salsa , but I didn’t do it.

Howsomuchever… this artichoke heart, red bell pepper, Nicoise olive, toasted pine nut salsa for salmon ROCKS!!! It's an old recipe heartily adapted from the Food Network.

Seriously.

It’s amazing stuff. It’s good in a spoon, on a Tostito..it is divine.

Throw in some tuna canned in olive oil (truly the only kind of canned tuna to eat) and call it lunch.

Add cannelini beans and call it bruschetta.

Make it your own.

It is a portent of things to come this summer and I, for one, cannot wait.

Artichoke Hearts and Toasted Pine Nut Salsa

1 6 ounce jar marinated artichoke hearts, drained
1 fat garlic clove, minced
1 tbsp capers
2 tbsp chopped sun dried tomatoes in olive oil
1 small red bell pepper, seeded and diced
¼ cup pine nuts, toasted
1/3 cup Nicoise olives, pitted and chopped coarsely
Freshly ground black pepper
About ¼ cup coarsely chopped fresh Italian parsley

Combine all of this , mix well and season.
Makes about 1-½ cups.

Perfectly Seared Salmon

adapted from Michael Fennely

Preheat oven to 400.

Heat a cast iron skillet on top of the stove. Add a good swirl of extra virgin olive oil.
Put two nice sized fillets of wild salmon in the pan skin side down.

Cook until skin is crispy, takes about three minutes or so.

Put the pan in the oven for 5-7 minutes til salmon is done.

Top with salsa and wait for applause.

Serves 2.

Artichoke Heart and Toasted Pine Nut Salsa on the Perfect Salmon Fillet