Garlic Marinated Chicken Cutlets with Grilled Potatoes

I found this recipe at MarthaStewart.com. And if you would have told me nine months ago that I'd be visiting Martha Stewart's website I would have slapped you. I seem to be saying that a lot these days. But I give her credit, this meal is fantastic. I made this at my brother's place last night and we were both impressed.

The potatoes were out of this world. I varied from the directions slightly and finished them in a grill basket to crisp them up a little bit, and it worked perfectly. The chicken had a nice flavor, too.

I paired the meal with what's become one of my signatures—a grilled romaine salad. My brother had never had it before and he was blown away. I've yet to make this salad for anyone who hasn't raved about it. It's worth a look.

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 pounds baby red potatoes, halved or quartered if large
• 2 tbsps olive oil
• 6 garlic cloves, minced
• 1/4 cup white wine vinegar
• 3 tbsps fresh thyme leaves, chopped
• Coarse salt and ground pepper
• 4 chicken cutlets

Grilled Spicy-Citrus Chicken with Corn

Yes, more chicken. I've really cut down on my red meat. And I've been told I shouldn't eat much pork. So chicken has been my go-to meat on the grill. But what I've learned is that it's difficult to get tired of it if you keep finding new ways to make it. This meal was outstanding.

The chicken had a great flavor. Personally, I'd prefer a little more heat. Next time, I'll be cranking up the amount of hot pepper sauce and crushed red pepper in the marinade—perhaps by up to one-third. What really attracted me to this recipe (found on www.epicurious.com), however, was the notion of marinating corn. I had never heard of it before, so figured I'd give it a shot. The result was the tastiest corn I've ever had. At a friend's suggestion, I added some red pepper sauce (Frank's Red Hot) just before eating. Outstanding.

Let me know what you think.

Ingredients

• 1 cup fresh lime juice
• 2/3 cup fresh orange juice
• 1/2 cup olive oil
• 4 garlic cloves
• 2 tsp hot pepper sauce
• 2 tsp crushed red pepper
• 8 chicken breasts
• 8 ears of corn, husked

Grilled Garlic Chicken with Bell Peppers

This one gets high marks. I found this recipe on Epicurious, via Bon Appetit magazine. It's a well-balanced meal with outstanding flavor that was quite easy to prepare. The Italian dressing, garlic and rosemary team to create a great taste. But I might have to work on my rice cooking skills—it was a bit sticky. Hmmmm, maybe there's a way to grill rice?

Ingredients

• 3/4 cup Italian salad dressing
• 1 tbsp chopped fresh rosemary
• 2 large garlic cloves, chopped
• 6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• 1 red bell pepper, quartered lengthwise
• 1 green bell pepper, quartered lengthwise
• 1 yellow bell pepper, quartered lengthwise 
• Rice (I used brown rice)

Chipotle-Lime Chicken

This is a quick, easy meal with a nice, clean taste. As I've written before, you can never find enough different ways to cook chicken. This recipe from Epicurious, via Gourmet magazine, calls for chicken thighs—but I used breasts to make it a touch healthier. The result was pretty darn good, though I'll tinker with the marinade in the future to make it a bit more powerful (I'll definitely be adding more hot sauce to increase the heat).

I'll also try to increase the time I'm marinating the chicken—perhaps marinating it for about two hours—to infuse more flavor. But if you're pressed for time, this works fine. The flavor is just a bit more subtle.

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup fresh lime juice
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 2 1/2 tbsps chipotle Tabasco (I used Cholula Chipotle Hot Sauce because my supermarket didn't carry chipotle Tabasco)
• 3/4 tsp salt
• 6 large boneless, skinless chicken thighs (2 1/2 lbs total)
• 2 tsp mild honey

Grilled Chicken and Shrimp Salad

No need to mince words here. This is the best salad I've ever had. And I've been the kind of guy who thinks a salad is a salad is a salad. Not anymore. Well, at least when it comes to this salad.

This meal is the creation of my friend Robyn at Simply Fresh Dinners (Public Service Announcement, I've found A LOT of recipes on her site. You should take a look.). The combination of flavors makes it truly unique. And the homemade oil and vinegar dressing Robyn concocted offers the perfect compliment to all of them.

There are no grilling secrets here. Just grill up the chicken and shrimp over direct heat, combine with the other ingredients, and enjoy!

Ingredients (makes four servings)

• 1 lb raw, frozen, peeled and deveined large or jumbo shrimp
• 2 large boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• 4 cups of spinach
• 2 cups of strawberries, sliced
• 2 cups of red grapes
• 1/2 cup slivered almonds
• 3/4 cup feta cheese (I'm not a feta fan, so I used parmesan)
• 1/2 cup croutons
• Freshly ground pepper
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder

Dressing ingredients

• 1 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
• 1 tbsp minced garlic
• 1/2 tsp freshly ground pepper
• 1 tbsp freshly chopped basil
• 2 tbsp grated parmesan cheese

Shrimp marinade ingredients

• 2 tbsp minced garlic
• 1 tbsp minced ginger
• 1 tbsp Asian Chili Garlic Sauce
• 1 tsp lemon juice
• dash of freshly ground pepper

Grilled Lemon-Honey Chicken Breasts

You can never learn enough ways to cook chicken. Boneless/skinless chicken breasts are probably the healthiest meat around, but if you don't have enough different recipes in your arsenal, they can get boring in a hurry.

That's why this recipe that I found on www.epicurious.com jumped out at me. I love the taste of lemon. It gives everything it touches such a nice, fresh and clean flavor. This dish was easy to prepare and was quite tasty. I'd just recommend marinating it for a bit longer than the minimum one hour the recipe suggests. In fact, as with any marinade, the longer the better.


Grilled Lemon-Honey Chicken Breasts

Ingredients

• 4 boneless/skinless chicken breast halves
• 1 small onion, finely chopped
• 6 tbsp fresh lemon juice
• 2 tbsp vegetable oil
• 2 tbsp honey
• 1 tbsp reduced-sodium soy sauce