Tarragon Chicken Paillards

This was a really good dish that we will make again.  The kids getting to pound on the chicken with a "hammer" was an added bonus.

Ingredients:
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (each 6 to 8 ounces)
1 clove garlic, minced,
1/2 teaspoon coarse salt (kosher or sea)
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon hot red pepper flakes
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
3 tablespoons chopped fresh tarragon
3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
1 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 cup grape or baby cherry tomatoes (cut cherry tomatoes in half)
6 to 8 cups mesclun, rinsed and spun dry
 
Trim any sinews or excess fat off the breasts and discard. Rinse the breasts under cold running water, then drain (don’t blot dry; the breasts should be damp). Place each breast between two sheets of plastic wrap. Pound it out into a broad flat sheet 1/4 to 1/8-inch thick, using a scallopini pounder or the side of a heavy cleaver. Repeat with the remaining breasts. Place the breasts on a rimmed nonstick baking sheet.

Place the garlic, salt, black pepper, and hot red pepper flakes in the bottom of a large nonreactive mixing bowl and mash to a paste with the back of a wooden spoon. Add the mustard, 1 tablespoon of the chopped tarragon, and the lemon juice and vinegar, and whisk to mix. Gradually whisk in the olive oil; the mixture will thicken. Pour a quarter of this vinaigrette over the chicken breasts, patting it onto the chicken with a fork. Turn the breasts over, pour another quarter of the vinaigrette on top, and pat it onto the chicken with a fork. Let the chicken marinate in the refrigerator, covered, for 30 minutes. Set the remaining vinaigrette aside. You’ll use it to dress the salad.
Just before you set up the grill, place the tomatoes, mesclun, and the remaining chopped tarragon, in that order, in the bowl with the remaining dressing, but don’t toss them together.

Set up the grill for direct grilling and preheat to high.

When ready to cook, brush and oil the grill grate. Arrange the paillards on the hot grate, placing them on a diagonal to the bars. Grill the paillards until cooked through, about 2 minutes per side, rotating each a quarter turn after 1 minute to create an attractive crosshatch of grill marks, if desired (use a long, wide spatula to turn over the paillards). To test for doneness, poke a paillard with your finger; it should feel firm to the touch.

 

Transfer the grilled paillards to a platter or plates. Quickly toss the salad and mound it on top of the paillards. Garnish with the tarragon sprigs and serve at once with the lemon wedges.

 

Southern Baked Beans

Very good.  These beans were a great side with the ribs.

Ingredients:
1 large onion, diced
2 (16-ounce) cans pork and beans
3 tablespoons prepared yellow mustard
1/4 cup maple syrup
1/4 cup light brown sugar
4 tablespoons ketchup
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1/2 pound bacon strips, cut into 1/2-inch pieces

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

In a Dutch oven, mix onion, pork and beans, mustard, maple syrup, light brown sugar, ketchup, and lemon juice. Top with the bacon pieces. Bake, covered, for 45 to 60 minutes.

Grilled Shrimp with Whiskey Sauce

I procured this tasty shrimp recipe from Nibblemethis.com.  It went very well with the garlic bread.

Ingredients:
36 large shrimp, peeled and deveined
1/2 cup Kramer's BBQ sauce (we used Williamson Bros)
1/4 cup whiskey
1 green onion, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
2 tsp spice rub

Mix the bbq sauce, whiskey, green onion, and garlic together and pour over the shrimp. Allow to marinate for 45 minutes while you preheat the grill.

Remove shrimp from marinade (reserve the marinade) and place on 6 bbq skewers. Season both

sides with spice rub. For the spice rub, use your favorite seafood rub (Dizzy Pig Raging River, Old

Bay, etc).

Bring the reserved marinade to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 5 minutes.

On a medium-hot (400f) grill, grill the shrimp 1-2 minutes per side until cooked through. Brush with
the marinade during the last minute.

 

Grilled Garlic Bread with Parmesan & Chives

This is another garlic bread recipe from Steven Raichlen's BBQ USA.  This was a very good bread recipe that we will definitely make again

Ingredients:
12 tablespoons (1½ sticks) salted butter, at room temperature
4 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
3 tablespoons finely chopped fresh chives
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 loaf supermarket French bread (we used Italian bread)

Place the butter, garlic, cheese, chives, and pepper in a bowl and beat to mix. Set the garlic butter aside.

Using a serrated knife, cut the bread sharply on the diagonal into ½-inch-thick slices. Using a spatula, spread a thin layer of the garlic butter on both sides of the bread slices. The bread can be prepared ahead to this stage, press the buttered slice back together as if reassembling the loaf and wrap them with plastic wrap. The buttered bread can be refrigerated for up to 6 hours.

Set up the grill for direct grilling using a two-zone fire. preheat one zone to medium-high and leave the other zone unlit so you can move the bread over it if it starts to burn.

When ready to cook, brush and oil the grill grate. Place the bread slices over the medium-high zone of the grill and toast them until golden brown, 1 to 3 minutes per side. Don’t take your eyes off the grill for a second, as the bread can burn quickly. Serve the garlic bread hot off the grill.

Venison Stew

I am not a hunter, but we will eat deer any chance we get.  This recipe was very good.  I am sure it would be just as good with beef.

Ingredients:
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 pounds venison stew meat
3 onions, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 bay leaf
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1 tablespoon salt
3 cups water
7 small potatoes, peeled and quartered
1 pound carrots, cut into 1 inch pieces
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup water

In a skillet, deeply brown the meat in oil. Add onions, garlic. Worcestershire sauce, bay leaf,

oregano, salt, and water. Simmer, covered, for 1 1/2 to 2 hours, or until meat is tender.

Add potatoes and carrots; cook until tender.

Combine flour and water. Stir into the stew. Remove bay leaf before serving.

Honey-Dijon Ham

I am a little slow posting this, but the Christmas ham was very good.

Ingredients:
9-10 pound fully-cooked, bone in ham
1/3 cup honey
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 tablespoon water

Preheat BGE to 325°.
 

Place the ham in large shallow roasting pan. Bake until meat thermometer inserted in thickest part

registers 125°, about 1 1/4 hours.
 

Combine honey, mustard and sugar; brush over ham.
 

Continue baking for an additional 30 minutes, or until meat thermometer registers 140°
 

Remove from the BGE and let the ham rest in roasting pan on a rack for at least 10 minutes, or up to

30 minutes.
 

Serve with additional warm glaze, if desired.