The Ginger Kitchen

Looking for an easy week-night meal? This dish takes less than an hour and is super tasty. The spicy chicken is tempered by the chill from the salad, which contains just the right mixture of spices and cheese. Grilling the corn and cutting it from the cob adds a texture and flavor you wouldn’t get from canned corn.

Chipotle Lime Grilled Chicken

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup fresh lime juice
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 2 1/2 tablespoons chipotle Tobasco*
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 4 boneless chicken breasts
• 2 teaspoons mild honey

Preparation:

Stir together lime juice, oil, salsa chipotle, and salt in a liquid-measuring cup. Place chicken between two pieces of plastic wrap and tenderize from the center out using a meat mallet. Put chicken in a large sealable bag and add 1/3 cup marinade (reserve remainder in cup). Seal bag, forcing out excess air, and marinate chicken at room temperature, about 15 minutes. Stir honey into remaining marinade until dissolved to make sauce.

Grill chicken (discarding marinade in bag) on lightly oiled grill rack, covered only if using a gas grill, turning chicken over occasionally and moving it to avoid flare-ups if necessary, until just cooked through, 8 to 10 minutes total.

Brush both sides of chicken with some of reserved sauce, then continue to grill, turning over once, until lightly browned, about 1 minute more. Serve chicken drizzled with remaining sauce.

*We couldn’t find chipotle Tobasco, but at George’s, we found salsa chipotle that served well as a substitute. 

Grilled Corn on the Cob Salad with Garlic Butter

Ingredients:

• 1 stick butter
• 2 heads of garlic, roasted
• 4 ears corn in husk
• 2 tbsp. fresh lime juice
• 1/4 cup crumbled queso fresco or mild feta
• 1/4 cup finely chopped chives
• smoked sweet paprika to taste
• salt & pepper to taste

Preparation:

Set butter out until it is room temperate. Roast the garlic. Remove garlic from husk and mash with a fork. Mix into butter.

To make the corn, heat your grill to high. Place the corn on the grill, close the grill hood, and cook for 15 to 20 minutes, turning occasionally, until husks are burnt and corn is charred. Allow to cool. Unwrap the husks from and cut from cob. Mix with lime juice, queso, chives, paprika, butter, and salt & pepper. Chill before serving.

Jon made this for dinner on Sunday evening to accompany burgers and coleslaw. He found the recipe in the June 2012 issue of Bon Apetit. There’s one word for this: fresh! Without any additives, this “juice” allows the natural flavor of the cantaloupe and basil to shine. Other Agua Frescas in that issue include Chia Limeade, Watermelon & Grapefruit, and Tamarind & Date. I hope we get to try them all!

Preparation:

Working in batches, puree 15 cups chopped cantaloupe (from about 3 1/2 lbs. melons) in a blender until smooth. Set a fine-mesh sieve over a large bowl; line sieve with cheesecloth. Strain puree into bowl; gather cheesecloth into a bundle and squeeze and remaining juice into the bowl. Repeat process with fresh cheesecloth, straining into a large pitcher (makes about 5 cups of juice). Add 3/4 cup fresh lemon juice, 3/4 cup loosely packed fresh basil leaves, and 2 cups cold water to pitcher. Let steep at room temperature for 1-2 hours. Fill glasses with ice. Divide among glasses. Serves 8.

Before anyone jumps to the wrong conclusion, we are not so irresponsible as to splurge on lobster tails in the middle of the week. We did, however, receive a gift certificate to Maine Lobster Direct from my parents for Christmas, so we ordered some and there they’ve sat in our freezer ever since. And while it may seem sacrilegious to eat the lobster tails in any other way but broiled with liquified butter to dunk them in, Jon absolutely made the right decision with this risotto dish. One bite and I was done… there was so much cussing during this meal (coming from both parties): “This is so effing good!” “Good God is this delicious!” “Holy crap, this is unbelievably good!” Just imagine those PG words for an R audience. That was the scene in our kitchen earlier this week.

Combined with the grilled asparagus, which was doused in sesame oil, and the spicy-sweet Asian pear slaw, we were in heaven. Have you ever had one of those euphoric, food induced highs? They are rare, but this meal did it for us. It was all we could do to stay upright in our chairs.

Please don’t take my word for it- try this yourself, that is, of course, if you can get yourself to 1- splurge on lobster tails and 2-  forego the typical lobster eating experience.

Truffled Lobster Risotto

Ingredients

• 4 6-ounce uncooked lobster tails

• 3 1/2 cups canned low-salt chicken broth

• 3 tablespoons black truffle oil
• 3/4 cup chopped peeled carrots
• 1/4 cup chopped shallots
• 1 cup arborio rice
• 1/4 cup brandy
• 1/3 cup whipping cream
• 1/3 cup chopped fresh chives

Preparation

Preheat oven to 425°F. Cook lobster in a large pot of simmering salted water until cooked through, about 10 minutes. Transfer to bowl of cold water to cool. Drain lobster. Remove meat from shells; reserve shells. Cut meat into 1/2-inch pieces.

Break shells into large pieces. Place on baking sheet; bake 15 minutes. Blend shells with 1 cup chicken broth in blender until finely chopped. Strain through fine sieve. Reserve lobster broth; discard shells.

Bring 2 1/2 cups chicken broth to simmer; keep hot. Heat 1 tablespoon truffle oil in heavy large saucepan over medium heat. Add carrots and shallots; sauté 2 minutes. Add rice; stir 2 minutes. Add brandy; reduce heat to medium-low. Simmer until brandy is absorbed, stirring constantly, about 2 minutes. Add lobster broth and 3/4 of chicken broth. Simmer until rice is just tender and mixture is creamy, adding remaining broth by 1/4 cupfuls as needed and stirring often, about 20 minutes. Add lobster and cream; stir until heated through. Remove from heat. Stir in 2 tablespoons truffle oil and chives. Season with salt and pepper.

Asian Pear Slaw

Ingredients

• 2 celery ribs
• 3 tablespoons fresh lime juice
• 2 tablespoons seasoned rice vinegar
• 1 teaspoon finely grated peeled fresh ginger
• 2 firm pears, cut into 1/4-inch-thick matchsticks
• 2 scallions, thinly sliced diagonally
• 1/4 cup fresh cilantro leaves
• 1/2 teaspoon finely chopped fresh hot red chile

Preparation

Peel strings from celery with a Y-shaped vegetable peeler and cut celery into 1/4-inch-thick matchsticks.

Whisk together juice, vinegar, and ginger and stir in celery and remaining ingredients with salt and pepper to taste. Let stand at room temperature 15 minutes before serving.