I was very excited this morning to see that my chives have flower buds. I will be making chive flower butter (June '08) probably within the week. There are a few options for making chive flower butter. Regular unsalted butter, organic unsalted butter, or make your own sweet cream butter. If you haven't tried making your own butter yet, for something as delicious as chive flower butter, it is a real treat. If time is an issue for you, better to make the chive flower butter with whatever you have on hand, rather than miss the chive flower season all together.I finally transplanted my tomato plants from their little seedling cups to larger containers. I have 9 San Marzano tomato plants and 9 yellow pear tomato plants. I am optimistic that I will be harvesting my own tomatoes this year, but there is still a lot of time between where they are now (about 8 inches high) and when they will start producing fruit. I will keep you posted on their progress.
This past week, I knew I wasn't going to be home for dinner but I still wanted my family to have a decent meal. I confess that there are many times when I don't give it much thought and they end up eating "Daddy's Famous Grilled Cheese sandwiches". And that's ok - I love a good grilled cheese myself - but I wanted them to have a really good dinner.
I flattened and marinated boneless/skinless chicken breasts in the lemon mixture below. It is essentially from the original Barefoot Contessa cookbook, with a couple tweaks. When I noticed the recipe, it was almost shocking to me that I hadn't tried it before. My original Barefoot is not in the greatest shape anymore because I have essentially cooked my way through it. It is definitely a desert island cookbook.
When it was time for Alan to get dinner ready, he started the barbeque. I had made a pot of plain brown basmati rice that just needed a minute or so in the microwave. He boiled some water and quickly cooked several bunches of baby bok choy. The chicken took no time to cook because they had been flattened. I had also made the peanut sauce that goes with the lemon chicken, but it didn't seem to be necessary (very little was eaten). The dinner was simple, very quick for Alan to prepare, and it was declared a winner by all. Especially the chicken.
Grilled Lemon Chicken
4 chicken breasts
1/2 c. fresh lemon juice
1/2 c. extra virgin olive oil
1 t. kosher salt
1/2 t. fresh ground pepper
1 T. fresh herbs (whatever fresh herbs you like)
1. Combine the lemon juice, olive oil, salt, pepper, and herbs in a large bowl. Place the chicken breasts in a bowl and marinate for at least a 1/2 hour or overnight.
2. Heat the barbecue. Cook chicken about 3 minutes per side, or until cooked through. Don't overcook the chicken or it will be tough.
*The Barefoot Contessa serves this chicken as an appetizer. She grills the breasts whole, slices it thin, and threads the pieces lengthwise on bamboo skewers. This is where her peanut sauce comes in
