Sunday, November 8, 2009

A Little Different Tailgate

I'm making this up, of course. I've never been to a tailgate in my life, mostly because neither my childhood gymnastic meets nor my oldest niece's soccer games seem to have tailgating parties attached.

But beer and football go together, from what I understand. Much like beer and baseball - I've never cared for beer (and me in a sorority, back in the day!). Yet whenever I go to a Braves game, beer it is.

A little late for Oktoberfest, but this Lemon-Lager Chicken recipe was just wonderful. My beloved Trader Joe's has non-beer people like me covered by selling single bottles for $1 - $2. I mean, we like the recipe but we don't six-pack-in-the-fridge-for-months like it, you know? I made this last weekend when I was a Tasmanian Devil of a house project - recovering chairs, moving around the decor, you name it. Fortunately this is EASY - dump the marinade ingredients in a ziploc or glass dish with a cover, give it a little time with the chicken, and cook. Done.

If you don't have grilling weather just pop these under the broiler. We sauteed broccolini and garlic as a side dish, which was terrific. Some roasted butternut squash or sweet potatoes would be a good choice, too. The leftovers were great tossed in a spinach salad.

Lemon-Larger Chicken
Cooking Light, 2005

1 cup lager (such as Budweiser)
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice (pricey - I used bottled)
3 TBSP soy sauce
1 1/2 TBSP olive oil
1 tsp chopped fresh thyme
2 tsp chopped fresh oregano
1 tsp freshly ground black pepper (seriously? Who measures freshly ground pepper? Four or five twists of the pepper grinder - close enough)
2 tsp honey
1/4 tsp Worcestershire sauce (2 shakes if you don't want to dirty the measuring spoon)
3 garlic cloves, minced
4 6-ounce boneless skinless breast halves

Combine all ingredients except chicken in a large (1 gallon) ziploc bag, or glass/ceramic dish with a cover. Blend. Add chicken. Marinate in the refrigerator for at least 3 hours.

Remove chicken from bag and discard marinade. Grill or broil, approximately 5 minutes per side.

2 comments:

Julia@SometimesLucid said...

I clicked on your blog from the CLBB. I LOVE your pepper ingrediant and comment - when I'm grinding pepper I always crack up at the person who is trying to catch all of it in a measuring spoon ;)

Cynthia said...

Oh, my. I have been remiss. You have NEVER been to a tailgate? Well, you are coming to one next year. My bros and I tailgate for every home Falcons game and I go even if I don't have a game ticket.

So next season, starting in September, you will need to meet me down there (convenient to MARTA at CNN station) and have the experience, just so you will no longer be a VIRGIN. And I will share a recipe from the event to round out the blog entry.

~~ techgirl