From the ArcaMax Publishing, Recipes by Zola Newsletter:
http://www.arcamax.com/news/zola/s-346508-697328
The Grillmeister...
People ask me how to stay organized when giving a summer party. The
first thing I suggest when they are doing a barbecue is to "find The
Grillmeister". That always raises some questioning eyebrows.
So who's the Grillmeister? The Grillmeister is in attendance at your
party. It's usually a man. He's the kind of guy who can't wait to get
a long tong in one hand, a favorite beverage in the other, and no
matter how high the temperature outside, he can't wait to stand in
front of a hot fire and hold court with a couple of buddies. Just ask
The Grillmeister to raise his hand, and even if he's never heard the
term he'll know exactly what you mean.
I tell people that at our parties, my husband is never The
Grillmeister. If he were The Grillmeister he'd be tied up in front of
the grill watching over whatever meat and grilled veggies we're
having. I need him available. What if I need those extra chairs from
the garage? What if I need him to get drinks or more ice out of the
freezer? Or that thing-a-ma-bob out of that drawer? He'll know what
I'm talking about and he'll know where it is. The grilling is the easy
part.
If it's burgers, brats, or even steaks, most Grillmeisters can handle
it. No problem. But even if it's something that falls into the gourmet
or gentle grilling category you'd be surprised by how well a man will
take direction from a hostess he's not married to. I can remember one
time I was serving goat cheese-filled quesadillas and I wanted them
grilled. At first The Grillmeister went into shock at the thought of
grilling something like that. I gave him a couple of pointers on how
to get the spatula underneath and how to flip them at just the right
moment when the grill marks were perfect and I walked away. I came
back a bit later to give him a refill on his beer and found him
executing his new grilling talents like a pro, and describing the
newly gained knowledge to a small male crowd that had gathered around
him. Of course everyone loved the grilled quesadillas and I had one
very proud guest who couldn't wait to help next time.
Enjoy this barbecue sauce on simple grilled chicken sometime this
summer. Your Grillmeister will handle this one easily.
Grilled Chicken breasts with Apricot-Vidallia Barbecue sauce
Serves 6
2 Tbl of butter
2 large Vidallia onions, diced
4 cloves
of garlic minced (jar garlic will do)
1- 12 oz jar of apricot
jam (Smuckers is one brand)
1-12 oz jar of American chili sauce
(red sauce)
3 Tbl of mustard
3 Tbl of brown sugar
½ tsp of cayenne (or more if you want it spicier)
4 Tbl of
Worchestershire sauce
6 boneless, skinless chicken breast
halves.
Olive oil spray
Melt the butter in a large sauce pan and add the onions. Cook the
onions on medium for 10 minutes or until they are softened. Stir
frequently. Add the garlic, jam, chili sauce, mustard, brown sugar,
cayenne and Worchestershire. Cook on medium until it starts to boil
and then turn down to medium low and let the sauce thicken and reduce
for approximately 25 minutes. Stir fairly often so it doesn't stick to
the bottom of the pan. Sauce can be made ahead and stored in the
refrigerator or you can use it right away.
Pound your checken breasts with a meat mallet until an even 1/2 inch
thick. I do this by putting each chicken breast in a plastic storage
bag and gently pounding. That way you don't get chicken mess on your
counter. You can use the bag over and over again for each breast.
Spray your chicken with the olive oil spray and season with salt and
pepper to your liking. Then grill on pre-heated grill at medium high
turning only once per side so you get some nice grill marks. This
should take about 10-12 minutes (depending on how hot your grill is).
Then serve your Apricot-Vidallia barbecue sauce on or around your
chicken. You can have the sauce warm or if it's very hot outside, a
cold sauce might taste good with the warm chicken. If it's a buffet,
the chicken can be served room temperature with the sauce spooned
over.
Note: No need to baste the chicken while it's grilling. If you do
baste your chicken while grilling it, be sure to do it only at the end
so you won't scorch the sweet sauce.
Enjoy!
Cheers,
Zola
Send email to Zola at dinnerwithzola@hotmail.com.