Party Chicken

Time: a little over an hour. Ease: err... moderate

Otherwise known as Pollo Fiesta or simply, ghetto chicken.

I used to live in a ghetto. I loved it and I loved the food. My friends and I used to go after church to this rundown place in little Mexico, where we were the only white girls, and eat chicken to our heart's content. Sigh, even the picture with the jalapeno in the ranchero beans makes me all nostalgic. You would walk into the place and there was this grill that was about eight feet long, absolutely covered in bright orange chickens. When they came off the grill, crisp and greasy, you would eat them quartered with homemade tortillas slathered in guacamole, salsa and rice and beans. I would usually wash it down with horchata, but that's a different story for a different day.

The beauty of this recipe is that you really can make beautiful, moist, succulent chicken on your grill! And it doesn't take that long! And it's easy! It's a great summer recipe because you don't heat up the house to cook the chicken and, well, it's amazingly yummy. That too.

The recipe:

1 five lb whole chicken

4 Tbs olive oil

2 tsp salt

1 tsp cayenne pepper

2 tsp cumin

2 Tbs BBQ seasoning (your choice which kind but I like Masterpiece)

2 tsp white pepper

2 tsp turmeric (it's what makes it orange!)

4 cloves garlic, finely minced

Tortillas

Guacamole

Okay, take the chicken and pat it dry with paper towels both inside and out. Gently pull the skin away from the meat (but not severing it entirely) and pat dry underneath. And now my favorite: place the bird firmly on the counter top, put your hands together like you're about to do CPR and MASH the ribcage! CRACK! Flatten it as much as you can. Make a paste of your spices and oil and massage it into both the meat under the skin and over the top of the skin (because, let's face it, after having it's ribcage cracked, it needs a massage). You might want to wear gloves because it will turn your fingers a little bit orange. Okay, it will actually make you look like you colored your fingertips orange with Magic Markers.

Turn your grill up to high and let it get as hot as it will. Bring the chicken and turn off ONE of the flames, this is the side you are going to place the chicken on. Because chicken renders so much fat as it cooks, if you place it directly over the flame it WILL drip and cause flare up and turn into the most precious little bit of blackened meat. I will go ahead and confess that I speak from experience.

Place the chicken over the now deadened flame with the breast side up and legs facing the opposing flame (I promise I am NOT being to detail oriented... these little details are the difference between drippy succulence and dry sawdust). Close the lid and let grill for 40 minutes. After the elapsed time, turn the chicken over breat side down with the legs still facing toward the flame. Let the chicken grill for another 20 minutes. Check for doneness by pressing on the chicken: if the juices run clear, it's all done; if they run reddish, it needs a little more time to cook.

Once the chicken has cooled, I love to eat it in a tortilla with whatever is good in a chicken taco. My personal favorite will always be just avocados with a little salt, chicken and a warm tortilla. Oh, and margarita on the side, but that's also another story for another day

Summer Chicken Cutlet

Time: about 20 minutes

Difficulty: pretty easy

So. I've been asked a number of times to start a food blog (I promise I have). Here it is, beginning with a lovely, thinly pounded slice of chicken.

A cutlet is a thin slice of meat, often veal, that is baked or fried. I personally find that the meat invariably ends up tasting like fried chicken when it's fried, so I prefer to bake it. There are three important components to this dish: the meat, the salad and the dressing. It's very important that all the ingredients in this dish be super fresh. There is no one flavor in this recipe; all of the ingredients are showcased together. This is what makes it such a beautiful, summer recipe. I dug up big, fat heads of garlic at my mom's (seriously, there is NOTHING like fresh garlic, not even garlic), I snipped off the tops of my basil plants sunning happily on my balcony and then picked the reddest tomato ever. I didn't slaughter the chicken though, that came fresh from the freezer, cold but cheerful.

As for the recipe:

2 large chicken breasts

1 large egg, beaten

1/2 cup flour

1/2 cup bread crumbs (I prefer Italian style)

1 ripe tomato, seeded and diced

1 package fresh basil (or if you're using your own, a great, big handful), chopped

1 head garlic (this is a head, mind you, not a clove)

balsamic vinegar

olive oil

salt to taste

Preheat the oven to 400*

Take the two chicken breasts and lay them on a cutting board. Cover the chicken with wax paper (or something comparable) and pound the chicken with a rolling pin (or heavy knife or brick or a small child, whatever's handy) until it's about 1/2 inch thin. Prepare three plates: one with the beaten eggs in it, one with the flour and one with the bread crumbs. Dip the chicken in the flour, then in the egg, then in the bread crumbs. Turn chicken over carefully to coat it as it's easy to end up with a wet, balled, bread-crumbed mess. Place the chicken on a non-stick baking sheet (or one that's been sprayed or coated with oil) and place in the oven for ten minutes.

In the meantime, peel all the cloves of garlic in the head and place them in a lightly oiled skillet on LOW for about 7 to 10 minutes, tossing occasionally (be careful and really pay attention, garlic burns quickly). The garlic should be softening and beginning to turn yellow when you take it off the burner. Combine the garlic, tomato and basil in a bowl and toss together.

The chicken has been in the oven for ten minutes and it's time to turn it over. Gently do so and allow it to bake another ten minutes.

Drizzle balsamic vinegar and olive oil over the salad and add salt until you like the flavor. I am a vinegar FREAK and could just drink the stuff, so I tend to overdo it a bit. I leave these things to your discretion.

When the chicken comes out of the oven, the coating should be nice and crispy; if it's not, put it under the broiler for about a minute. Put the chicken on a plate, top with salad (add more balsamic if you want) and have at it. This is pretty great served with penne or any type of pasta.

Easy peasy. The garlic in mine tonight is so good it made me weak in the knees.