Summer Eats
It is definitely grilling season here in Atlanta. The weather had been just perfect for being outside. We are doing all we can to enjoy it before the real heat hits and makes being outside, and especially cooking outside, miserable.In my last post I said I had a couple of recipes to share, so here we are. We celebrated the First Son's 20th birthday the other night. I'm choosing to not even talk about the fact that I have a 20 year old child. All I can think is if he has been around for 20 years, what does that make me? I'd much rather talk about food than do the math on that one.I have said before that I live in a household that loves to eat meat. They are meat eaters and meat lovers. The only thing they love more than any type of meat, is bacon. Yes, I know that's also a meat, but around here, bacon is in a class all by itself. So, while thinking about putting some chicken on the grill for dinner I had the meat category covered, but grilled chicken can get a little bit boring. Right? Why not wrap that chicken in bacon? If you do that your eaters will never complain that your grilled chicken is boring. Your meat lovers will never tell you it is boring and your bacon lovers will love you. It's pretty simple. Here's what you do.Grilled Bacon Wrapped Chicken
- Marinade:
- 1/4 Cup red wine
- 1/4 Cup olive oil
- 4 cloves garlic, crushed
- 4 tsp oregano
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 tsp pepper
- 4-6 skinless, boneless chicken breasts, washed and patted dry
- 4-6 slickes medium cut bacon
- Combine wine, oil, garlic, oregano, salt and pepper in a ziploc bag. Add chicken mix around to cover all of the chicken. Refrigerate for 1-2 hours.
- Preheat grill to medium high. Remove chicken from bag and place on a platter and wrap each breast with one slice of bacon, securing each end with a toothpick. Grill 6-8 minutes a side or until a meat thermometer registers 165 at the thickest part.
Since I am not exactly the meat lover that the rest of my family is, I made one of my all time favorite salads. If you are from my area of the world you may know this salad from the old cookbook, Tea Time at the Masters. It is always easy, always good and always a hit.Green Jacket SaladIngredients:1/4 Cup plus 2 T grated Parmesan Cheese1 1/4 Cups cherry Tomatoes, halved3 T scallions, sliced2 T chopped flat leaf parsley8 Cups mixed greens1 Pita split in half (optional)Dressing:2 T red wine vinegar1/2 tsp dried oregano1/4 tsp salt1/4 tsp sugar3 T olive oilDirections:This first part is optional, if you want to serve the salad with Pita chips. Preheat oven to 350. Place pita halves, cut side up on a baking sheet. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with about 2 T parmesan cheese. Bake for 8 minutes or until lightly browned. Allow them to cool and then break into its sized pieces.In a medium bowl, whisk dressing ingredients. Season with cracked pepper. Add tomatoes, scallions and parsley. Mix.Add greens to a large bowl. Top with dressing mixture and toss well. Next add cheese and if using pita chips, add them and toss again. Serve immediately!
And what's a birthday without dessert? Not a huge birthday cake man, I made the perfect Spring and Summer dessert. Just enough chocolate to make a boy happy but not too rich . . .Derby Pie. I love Gena Knox's version in her cookbook, Southern My Way. Love this cookbook!So now I've given a meat a salad AND a dessert recipe! I think I have all the bases covered!What are your favorites to grill? Do you have a good old fashioned go to salad? And have you ever had a bad Derby Pie?Enjoy Your Day!