chives

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Dijon and Chive Grilled Chicken

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While I was home this past weekend at my parent’s house my mom supplied me with some very delicious fresh herbs.  And when I say some, I mean a seriously hefty amount.  I am going to start up an herb series to help everyone get their own herb garden started and give you ideas of what to do when you are faced with a large amount of fresh cut herb goodness.  Herbs are such an easy way to add flavor and spice to your food without the calories or fear of processed chemicals.  Before I get the series started I wanted to share this amazing chicken recipe.

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In a traditional glaze, which I typically use with a ham, I combine some sort of sugar (brown sugar, regular sugar, honey, agave, etc) with a mustard (honey mustard, yellow mustard, brown mustard, dijon mustard, you get the point), and maybe a splash of citrus (lemon juice, pineapple juice, orange juice, etc).  Today I wanted to use my abundance of chives, so I combined agave and dijon mustard with a small handful of fresh cut chives.  The result was fantastic.  It turned our grilled chicken into a flavorful and juicy treat.  I drizzled the extra glaze over the finished product, you can thicken it with some mayo or greek yogurt if you want a creamy gravy for on top.

The key to a sugary glaze is to hold off on adding it to the meat until the last few minutes of cooking.  The sugars will get activated and can burn if you put it on too soon.  When added at the end and given a few minutes to adhere to the meat, you will get the full benefit of the glaze and you will also seal in moisture!

Ingredients:

2-4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
3-4 Tbsp of agave (or sugar of choice)
1-2 Tbsp of dijon mustard (or mustard of choice)
1-2 Tbsp of fresh cut chives
salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Season chicken breasts with salt and pepper.  If you want to cut back on cooking time and increase glaze coverage, either butterfly the breasts or beat with meat hammer.

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2. Mix together agave, mustard, and chives in a small bowl.  Adjust proportions to taste preferences.

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3. Grill chicken on a hot grill (around 400-450 degrees).  In the few minutes before the chicken is fully cooked glaze on all sides and finish cooking until center reaches 165 degrees.

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4. Drizzle with extra glaze if desired.

This goes really well over a salad or with a side of grilled vegetables for a complete healthy meal.  Don’t forget you can eat the flower of the chives as well.  Just remove the center stem and sprinkle over your salad or chicken for a little extra chive flavor!

Enjoy and Eat Well!

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Roasted Garlic Red Skin Mashed Potatoes

No Fall or Winter feast is complete without mashed potatoes.  Ever since I was a kid I have been a mashed potato snob, I always demanded the real thing, none of that boxed stuff.  While I love classic mashed potatoes, I can’t help but try to enhance it.  I recently gained a new appreciation for roasted garlic, the flavor is soft yet powerful at the same time.  If roasting garlic seems frivolous or too time consuming, try popping a few cloves in the oven with a main dish to roast for sides (such as this one) or smearing on bread.  The process is totally worth the effort in my opinion.

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Ingredients:

– 2 lbs of red skin potatoes, diced evenly

– 1/4 stick of butter (or more to taste)

– 2 Tbsp fresh chives, roughly chopped

– 1/4 cup of milk (more or less for consistency)

– 1/4 cup of sour cream or plain greek yogurt.

– 3-4 cloves of garlic, roasted and mashed

– salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Roast the garlic:  Cut the top off of the cloves leaving skin intact, drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper.  Loosely wrap in foil and roast in oven at 325-350 for 45-60 minutes.  I stuck this little foil pouch in with the ham while it was cooking to save time.  To prepare garlic for mixing, remove roasted cloves from oven and push pulp out of skin and mash with a fork or knife.

2. Prepare your potatoes and cover with cold salted water, bring to a boil and cook until fork tender.  Try to not overcook.

3. When the potatoes are cooked, drain water and mix with remaining ingredients in standing mixer or hand mixer, take care to not over work.

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Enjoy!

 

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Herb Buttered Corn on the Cob

Corn on the cob is such an easy and delicious side dish.  Cooking the corn can be done several different ways: boiling, roasting, or grilling with husks on or off.  I personally like the corn grilled with the husks off, the little char marks make for a nice crispy look and bite.  For a little extra flavor I made a seasoned butter to rub on the corn after coming off the grill.

Herb butter can be made in any combination that you may like.  My favorite combination for on corn is cilantro, chive, and parsley with garlic.   For this round I didn’t have cilantro, so it’s just garlic, chives, and parsley with 1 stick of unsalted butter and salt.

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Let the butter sit out for about 30 minutes to soften up, or if you don’t have time you can put it in the microwave for about 10 seconds to soften the butter without melting it.  Mince the garlic and herbs then mix into the butter with a dash of salt.  At this point you can roll the butter in wax paper then put in the fridge if you want a log of butter to cut or roll the corn on, or you can leave it in the bowl like I did.

 

Grill the corn on a hot grill for about 15 minutes, turning a 1/4 turn every 3-4 minutes until you start to get grill marks on a few of the kernels as shown below.  While still hot, butter the corn and serve immediately.

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