Meaty Monday: Grilled Chicken Paillards with Corn, Green Beans & Basil Drizzle

Certain foods, I think, are etched into our national psyche as symbols of things near and dear to our heart. If you are eating cotton candy, chances are there's a Ferris wheel not far away,  and if you're munching a corn dog on a stick, there is probably a heifer wearing a blue ribbon in her halter within spitting distance. Corn, tomatoes, basil and green beans scream "Summer!" to me in a not so subtle way. If there is ever a time of year when these foods have reached their pinnacle of perfection, it is now.

Chuck likes grilled chicken. Actually he loves grilled chicken. Really loves grilled chicken. Really thin grilled chicken. If I was willing to serve it at least once a week on a regular day (have I told you about our Tuesday burger night....?), he'd be thrilled. Me, I like change. Especially different dinners.

Since I do like to make dinners that will make us both happy, I came up with this combo that even I could eat once a week...at least during the Summer. The chicken is a simple as can be, "paillards" is just a way to describe very thin pounded slices of meat -- and the drizzle is somewhere between a pesto and a vinaigrette. This can become one of your favorite do-ahead meals. Add the two, to the corn, fresh beans and tomato, and the whole thing just sings. If you need a vegan or vegetarian (or if you are doing a Meatless Monday side dish), just replace the butter in the corn dish with evoo.

Yes, it's every bit as good as it looks. Yes, I did lick the plate.

Grilled Chicken Paillards with Corn, Green Beans & Basil Drizzle
Serves 4

For the chicken:

1/4 cup low sodium gluten free tamari soy sauce
1/4 cup dry red wine
2 garlic cloves, crushed (jarred equivalent is fine)
2T olive oil
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, pounded thin (paillards)

For the drizzle:

1/2 cup fresh basil leaves, tightly packed
3 garlic cloves, (jarred equivalent is fine)
1/2 cup evoo
3 tablespoons lemon juice
1 teaspoon kosher salt

For the vegetables:

1 tablespoon butter or organic corn oil
4 ears of fresh corn, shucked and kernels cut off the cob
1/2 lb. fresh green beans, trimmed and broken in half
1 small fresh tomato, diced
a few basil sprigs for garnish


Instructions:

1. Early in the day, mix the first 4 ingredients and pour into a zip top bag. Add the chicken and chill until dinner.

2. Place all the ingredients for the drizzle in a blender or a mini processor and puree. Place in a covered container in the fridge until dinner time.

3. At mealtime, heat the butter or oil in a medium saucepan, over medium heat, and add the corn and the green beans to the butter. Stir to coat and sauté for a few minutes. Add 1/3 cup of water to the pan, cover and let steam for about 3-4 minutes until the beans are tender. Remove the lid and cook away all the water. Turn off the heat and stir in 3 Tablespoons of the drizzle. Cover and set aside.

4. Heat your grill to medium high, remove the chicken from the marinade (discard the marinade) and grill the chicken about 3-4 minutes per side depending on how thick it is. Place on a platter and drizzle lightly with a bit of the basil drizzle to serve. Pass the extra basil drizzle on the side.

5. Turn the vegetables into a bowl. Sprinkle the tomato over the top and garnish with a basil sprig.

Delicious corn, green beans with basil drizzle and chopped tomatoes,
easily made vegan...

The Best Thing You Forgot to Grill This Summer: Lamb, Butterflied and Marinated

Somehow, we've missed the boat here with one of the best possible meats for the grilling season. Everyone does beef steaks and burgers, pulled pork butt and ribs, but rarely do you ever see a really great recipe for a simply fabulous grilled lamb. Here it is.

Meat Eater's Delight: juicy, tender grilled butterflied lamb!

A lot of people think they don't like lamb; it draws up memories of dry, overdone leg of lamb with mint jelly at Easter dinners. I was one of them until I was a teenager, and was served lamb cooked rare in France. What a revelation: rich, juicy and succulent. Certainly NOT what my mother put on the table at home. The key to really wonderful lamb is never to cook it past medium rare...or at most medium. If there is no pink left, then you better keep cooking and make a stew, as well-done lamb leg is abominable. It's the stuff that made so many people think they don't like lamb. Like Chuck.

Last weekend, for Sunday dinner, I found a beautiful, small piece of free-range, organic lamb at the butcher, already boned and butterflied. All it needed was a little marinating in a simple garlicky mixture of fresh garlic, Herbes de Provence, red wine and olive oil. And then a short visit on a hot grill. Perfection.  Good meat doesn't need a lot of ornamentation. Ours turned out to be a spectacular dinner, and my lamb-hating husband scarfed down every bit on his plate.

Be sure your grill is hot enough to cook before your start. 450°F.

Note: To make this Simple Grilled Lamb, you'll need some simple math skills to multiply the ingredients according to the number of people you plan to serve.  The meat should be evenly butterflied to just over 1" thick. Also, please be sure your Herbes de Provence mixture contains lavender; it doesn't have taste anywhere as good without it. When you remove the meat from the grill notice that the grain of the meat will likely go in different directions in the leg, as it's comprised of several different muscles. Be sure to pay attention to where the grain shifts direction as you carve the cooked meat to keep cutting against the grain. This will insure every bite will be meltingly tender.

Simple Grilled Lamb

1 pound of butterflied leg of lamb for every two people you plan to serve
2T of Herbes de Provence per pound of meat
3 minced garlic cloves for each pound of meat
1teas. kosher salt per pound of meat
1/2 cup dry red wine per pound of meat
2T extra virgin olive oil per pound
1 big grind of fresh ground pepper per pound.

Place the meat in a big zip top bag. Combine everything else and pour over. Seal the bag and refrigerate 6  to 8 hours, turning over occasionally bathe the meat in the marinade  evenly.

No fancy ingredients,  just herbs, garlic , wine and oil. Perfection.

Heat a grill to 450°F. Remove the meat from the marinade and discard the bag and marinade. Grill about 3-5 minutes a side depending on how well cooked you like it. Let stand about 7-10 minutes before slicing across the grain like a London broil. Better to err on the rare side as you can always put it back on longer. No way back from overcooked.

Nice with a light dry red wine, pureed cauliflower and steamed greens with oil and garlic.