Wednesday, July 26, 2006
Warm weather side dish
Hey all,
It's warm and humid out in the Boston area this week so it's time to keep the heat out of the kitchen. Last night I got some chicken drumsticks (96 cents for three, what a deal!) to put on the grill for dinner and was looking for an interesting side dish. I saw some good looking cherry tomatoes at the store, some decent looking corn on the cob and had some feta, red onion and fresh herbs at home. Put 'em all together and I had a plan for an interesting variation on succotash.
First I grilled the corn to caramelize the kernels and add another flavor element. I grilled them directly over very hot coals after husking them. Normally, if I grill corn I soak them in the husk first so you get a steamed effect but for this, I wanted caramelization. I let them start popping a bit and moderately charred before I took them off. Meanwhile, I sliced the tomatoes in half, cut the onion coursely and roughly chopped some basil and parsley. All this went in the bowl along with some feta and ground black pepper. When the corn was cooled, I used a knife to cut the kernels off and tossed them in. Add some good evoo, toss and you're good to go.
The salad was good. The acidity of the tomatoes was balanced by the cheese and the sweetness in the corn was a nice flavor that married well with the marinated chicken. I'd recommend it as an alternative to the usual green salad or as something to do with a hodgepodge of veggies from the farmer's market or some such.
Note on the corn cobs: slicing the kernels off this way is very inefficient. I actually nibbled on the cobs afterwards to avoid wasting such tasty deliciousness. Roommate Ian has another use for them; he uses the cobs to flavor stocks and sauces. Give it a try next time you're looking to add a unique flavor.
The chicken by the way, is a variation on the old Grandpa Bunker recipe. Take chicken parts (bone in), marinate in a blend of red wine vinegar, olive oil, fresh parsely, onion, garlic, salt and pepper for a few hours. Sometimes I'll add dijon mustard but it easily gets to be too much. Grill over high heat until seared, then move to the cooler part of the grill and let finish with the lid on. When there are five minutes of cooking left, take the parts out and put in with the marinade for a few minutes. Return to the grill to finish cooking and enjoy. My grandmother makes this amazing chicken gravy served over white rice as an accompaniment but I have no idea how she makes it. I used to eat 4 or 5 servings of it when I was a kid.
It's warm and humid out in the Boston area this week so it's time to keep the heat out of the kitchen. Last night I got some chicken drumsticks (96 cents for three, what a deal!) to put on the grill for dinner and was looking for an interesting side dish. I saw some good looking cherry tomatoes at the store, some decent looking corn on the cob and had some feta, red onion and fresh herbs at home. Put 'em all together and I had a plan for an interesting variation on succotash.
First I grilled the corn to caramelize the kernels and add another flavor element. I grilled them directly over very hot coals after husking them. Normally, if I grill corn I soak them in the husk first so you get a steamed effect but for this, I wanted caramelization. I let them start popping a bit and moderately charred before I took them off. Meanwhile, I sliced the tomatoes in half, cut the onion coursely and roughly chopped some basil and parsley. All this went in the bowl along with some feta and ground black pepper. When the corn was cooled, I used a knife to cut the kernels off and tossed them in. Add some good evoo, toss and you're good to go.
The salad was good. The acidity of the tomatoes was balanced by the cheese and the sweetness in the corn was a nice flavor that married well with the marinated chicken. I'd recommend it as an alternative to the usual green salad or as something to do with a hodgepodge of veggies from the farmer's market or some such.
Note on the corn cobs: slicing the kernels off this way is very inefficient. I actually nibbled on the cobs afterwards to avoid wasting such tasty deliciousness. Roommate Ian has another use for them; he uses the cobs to flavor stocks and sauces. Give it a try next time you're looking to add a unique flavor.
The chicken by the way, is a variation on the old Grandpa Bunker recipe. Take chicken parts (bone in), marinate in a blend of red wine vinegar, olive oil, fresh parsely, onion, garlic, salt and pepper for a few hours. Sometimes I'll add dijon mustard but it easily gets to be too much. Grill over high heat until seared, then move to the cooler part of the grill and let finish with the lid on. When there are five minutes of cooking left, take the parts out and put in with the marinade for a few minutes. Return to the grill to finish cooking and enjoy. My grandmother makes this amazing chicken gravy served over white rice as an accompaniment but I have no idea how she makes it. I used to eat 4 or 5 servings of it when I was a kid.
# posted by Yossie @ 7:39 PM 
