Skip to main content

"Pink Phobias"

By
       It has been a while since I have used my grille and I had some chicken thighs that I needed to use up. Now if I could overcome the nervousness of two things. One it has been raining a lot the last couple of days and I wasn't sure if I had time between gully washers and two, my worst food critic was expected for dinner. If my daughter sees so much as a speck of pink on her chicken she will claim it isn't done and refuse to eat it. Of course, I always use a meat thermometer when cooking chicken and I am confident it is done before serving. So I weighed my options, grille until it is as dry as leather or risk the family refusing to eat it. I took the risk.
        First I found a recipe that might help me cook the thighs on the grille. It was from "Food Wishes" on Youtube. Chef John is one of my favorite chefs to watch and learn from. He had a recipe for Grilled Greek Chicken that I thought might be the answer for the "pink" phobias. A technique really. He would slice the thighs to the bone in two spots to promote even cooking and also to let the marinade get inside the chicken. I made the marinade, sliced the thighs, mixed and refrigerated for 6 hours. Now if the rain would hold off.


The rain did hold off long enough to grille and the results were excellent. The thighs were actually quite moist but no pink fluids. It thrilled me when my daughter asked for seconds on the chicken. I love my daughter and being able to find a solution to the issue is great. The technique of scoring the thighs really evened the cooking time and the marinade was like a nice mix between Italian and Greek dressing. I may make some to put on my salads. I served the chicken with the bounty from my generous neighbors' garden. Cucumber salad, beets and potato salad.

     Check out Chef John's technique of scoring the chicken thighs. It is definitely the way to go to reduce the "pink phobia". Now I do have a few other phobias I need to address. I hope they are as easy.




Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Remembering Birch Creek Orchards

By
Recently, I have been reading a book by Barbara Kingsolver titled "Animal, Vegetable, Miracle."  This book is truly inspiring and focuses on harvesting local foods to reduce the amount of fuel used to transport foods all over the U.S.  She also emphasizes eating foods only when they are in season. Over Labor Day weekend, we took a trip back home to Jeddo, MI for my cousin's wedding (shout out to the beautiful bride Sarah Lawson!!).  While there, my uncle Mike invited us to his house to pick fresh peaches, apples and pears.  I was thrilled! This was my chance to eat locally and harvest fruit while it was in season! No more California fruit for me!  I took my husband and kids and we picked away. We filled boxes full of fruit and ate the fruit right off the tree! It was a special treat for me. Then it hit me, sadness...see friends, growing up my family helped operate Birch Creek Orchards in Jeddo, Mi.  Everyone in my family helped!  Even the smalle...
1 comment
Read more

The Secret Ingredient

By
     I like to measure the ingredients and lay them all out before starting a new recipe. The other day when Lily was going to be in the kitchen making dinner for us, I began to wonder, as I looked at my spice shelf. What is the most important ingredient or spice that I have? What is used the most? What ingredient is the most important overall? Seems like salt is used in most recipes. But what type? Sea salt, Iodized, Kosher, or Seasoned Salt. What ingredient or spice will make Lily's version of Sweet Pepper Pasta with Sausage special? All was laid out ready for Lily to add in the order the recipe called for. She executed with perfection.       As I watched her grate the Parmesan cheese that finishes the dish, it came to me. The secret ingredient. The one that for me makes every meal special. SHARING ! When finished, I realized that this really good meal, first introduced to me by my Son and Daughter-in-law, was indeed just as good as the time they served ...
2 comments
Read more

It was just a platter !

By
    There was a platter in some of my grandmothers things that my father had brought home years ago. There is a picture of a turkey on the face of the platter. It is still in fair condition considering that I am sure grandma used it a lot. We celebrated every holiday and lots of Sundays eating at her house. And since she didn't have a lot of "stuff" stored around in her small house, I'm sure I have seen it setting on the table with hams, turkeys or meat loafs to be served.      It wasn't until I turned it over that the true value of this platter was revealed to me! No it wasn't a makers mark from a fine china company in Japan or Germany. Nothing to convince me that this was valuable fine china. It was a piece of adhesive tape right in the middle of the back. Written in grandma's hand writing was a note. It read, From Mary Kathryn and Robert Lee, 1953. It was a gift to her from my parents in the year that I was born. Priceless!     The first thing I d...
2 comments
Read more