More BBQ Chicken

We have been using our grill a lot. Here are some grilled chicken dinners from recent weeks:

This particular spice rub didn’t come out wonderfully. Probably too much spice powder and overcooked chicken. But we’ve done spice-rubbed grilled chicken burritos several times and those have been delicious. One of these days I will do a post about Indian food…

As if the Barbecue Glaze I tried from Cook’s Illustrated wasn’t quick and simple enough, here’s an even quicker one that I adapted from Martha Stewart Everyday Food (Issue 43, June 2007):

Buffalo Chicken sauce (makes 1/2 cup)

Combine 1/4 cup ketchup, 1 T melted butter, 1 T Tabasco, 1 T worcestershire sauce, and 1/2 t garlic powder. Heat in the microwave, a few short bursts, and apply to grilled or fried chicken pieces.

For the rainbow chard (from the farmer’s market, but soon we will have home-grown) I used a trick I learned recently from my sister-in-law: It’s better to slow-simmer greens than to saute them. I had wondered about this, when I tried to saute greens they came out shriveled and dry with tough stems. She advised to cook them, covered, with flavoring agents and a bit of acidic liquid. Here’s what I did:

Lemon-garlic Chard (serves 2-3 as a side dish)

1 large bunch rainbow chard or other greens, washed and chopped into 1″ to 2″ pieces, including edible stems.
4 cloves garlic, sliced
1 lemon, juiced and zested
1 T butter or olive oil
1/2 cup white wine
Salt and pepper

Heat the butter or oil in a skillet that has a lid. Add the garlic and sizzle until fragrant. Add the chard (or as much as will fit); pour in the wine and add the lemon juice and zest. Cook and stir until the chard wilts and all fits in the pan with the lid on. Cover the pan, reduce the heat to low, and simmer for 15-20 minutes until the leaves and stems are tender. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

For the risotto, look here. Works just as well with just onion rather than leeks.

Simply misted with olive oil and sprinkled with salt and pepper, these grilled onions, tomatoes, and zucchini came out delicious – but next time I’ll cut them into smaller pieces for more even cooking. A super-simple dinner, couscous takes 5 minutes to steam.