salad. it's what's for dinner.

So, shit's gotten real lately.  I haven't been nearly as domestic as I'd like, and that actually pisses me off a great deal.  Between the usual end-of-the-school-year chaos, a bunch of pending court crap versus my ex-husband (after ten years of never asking him for a dime, I'm actually pursuing child support), and my last class EVER for my MBA?  Sleep and other silly things are at a premium.  


Anyhow, here's what I'm making for dinner tonight.  It's a lovely summer salad, and a great way to sneak in some spinach.  Enjoy.

SPINACH STRAWBERRY SALAD 

1 bag baby spinach, topped with: 

1 pint strawberries, cleaned and sliced 
Sugared almonds (below, I always make lots of extras) 
Dressing (You can either buy some poppyseed dressing from the store, or use the recipe below. I usually double the recipe because it makes a great marinade for salmon or chicken too) 
1 marinated boneless skinless chicken breast per person, cooked on the grill or on the stove (marinade recipe below)
Any other stuff you want - popular things in my house include mandarin oranges and pineapple cubes.

SUGARED ALMONDS 
1 bag slivered almonds 
1 egg white 
White sugar 

Whip egg white until frothy (not quite peaked), fold in almonds to coat. Remove coated almonds from bowl, stir coated almonds in sugar to coat, spread in a single layer on a cookie sheet and bake at 350* for about 10-15 minutes (watch carefully!). When you take them out of the oven, stir the almonds every minute until cooled, set aside. 

Tip: use foil on the cookie sheet.  It makes it a whole lot easier to get the sticky almond mess off of the pan without resorting to a bunch of cussing and a chisel.

DRESSING 
1/2 cup sugar 
2 tblsp. Sesame seeds (optional) 
1 tblsp. Poppy seeds 
1/2 tsp. Minced green onion 
1/4 tsp. Worcestershire sauce 
1/4 tsp. Paprika 
1/2 cup salad oil 
1/4 cup cider vinegar 

Combine together, and pour over salad shortly before serving. 

MARINADE FOR CHICKEN
1 tsp ginger
2 or 3 cloves of garlic, put through a press twice so that it's damn near liquified
juice and zest of one half of a lemon
juice and zest of one half of a lime
1/4 - 1/2 tsp of Siracha sauce (the red shit with the rooster on the bottle - this is optional)
1/4 tsp Chinese Five Spice
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp rice vinegar
1 tsp sesame oil
Orange Juice
Pineapple Juice
(or you can take the lazy way out and buy some of the yummy Tropicana Pinapple / Orange / Banana juice and use that - it also is delicious with rum, just sayin' ...)

Throw a chicken breast for each person on the cutting board.  Trim any of the fat off of it, and stab it repeatedly with a fork to pierce the flesh.  This will help the yummy marinade seep in.  

Put the stabbed chicken into a gallon ziploc bag.  Throw all the rest of the ingredients except the juices in there.  Smoosh the chicken around to distribute all of the good stuff evenly.  Then dump enough juices in there to cover the chicken.  Smoosh around again, and let sit for at least an hour before grilling or frying in a pan.  Use the extra liquid to baste / brush on the chicken while grilling.  Slice up the chicken into either strips or chunks to put on top of the salad.

reason #1,593,824 why i love my husband.

Because he can grill like a mofo.

All kidding aside, the chicken I made tonight was exceptional.  Yes, he actually grilled it.  But I made the sauce and bought the chicken and ... well, OK.  We did it together.

First of all, I bought leg quarters.  Why, you ask?  Well, because they stay deliciously juicy on the grill.  They don't dry out like boneless/skinless breasts, which is key when you're slow-cooking the poultry.  Plus, I like dark meat and I was the one that took their ass to the meat market.  So I bought what I like best. 

Then, I busted out one of my cookbooks. I modified a sauce recipe.  Here's what I made:

COCA-COLA SWEET BBQ SAUCE

Ingredients:
1 T. Butter
1 T. EVOO (extra virgin olive oil, you heathen)
1/2 cup chopped onion
1-2 cloves garlic, minced or put through a press
1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
1 t. dry mustard powder
1 T. honey mustard
1 T. dijon mustard
1 cup Coca Cola (but I bet this would be good with Dr. Pepper too)
2 T. balsamic vinegar (don't cheap out on this - I prefer Fini brand.  I swear it's worth the money. That shit will change your life.)
2 T. apple cider vinegar
2 T. Worcestershire sauce (A1 will do in a pinch if you don't have any)
1/2 cup ketchup

Procedure:
Bust up a saute pan.  I have this one, and it's perfect for this recipe.  Put the butter and EVOO into the pan, and melt it on medium heat.  Throw in the onions and garlic, and cook until "wilted" (softened), about two minutes or so. 

Add in the brown sugar, dry mustard powder, honey mustard, and dijon mustard.  Heat it back up until it simmers, and cook it down till it thickens (about 20 minutes or so).  Stir it every few minutes so that it doesn't stick.  I like a silicone scraper spatula for this task.

When the sauce has thickened up, dump in the remainder of the ingredients.  Use a whisk to break up any ketchup clumps if necessary.  Simmer this down until it's the desired consistency ... again about 20 minutes or a half-hour or so.  The onions, if cut small enough, should disintegrate as they cook down.  If not, and they bother you, just pulse the cooked sauce in a food processor to blend in the onions after cooking the sauce down completely.

Use this sauce on chicken or ribs ... it's a bit too sweet for beef, and too heavy for pork chops or fish.  Get the meat nearly cooked through, and then brush this on during the last 10-15 minutes of slow grilling.  The sugars will carmelize nicely, and you'll have orgasm-worthy dinner.

I served this with some steamed red potatoes drizzled with butter, EVOO, and rosemary.  My husband made gutteral caveman noises as he gnawed on the chicken bones.  I assume this gets five "OMG MAKE THAT AGAIN"s out of five.