Off the Grill: Chicken Salad Chicken salads are great dishes, either as the start to a meal or it is the meal itself. This warm chicken salad goes great with warm and toasted garlic bread or grilled garlic crostini.
You will need:

1 tablespoon sherry vinegar
1½ tablespoons pink peppercorns, or 1½ teaspoons green peppercorns mixed with 1 tablespoon of raw honey
1/3 cup olive oil
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
¾ – 1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breast halves, (3 breast halves, minus tenderloins)
Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
2 cups pink grapefruit segments, plus juice
½ teaspoon Dijon style mustard
3-4 chives
7-8 ounces or 1 bag of arugula leaves, washed and dried

In a small cup, combine the sherry vinegar and peppercorns. Leave them to soak as you prepare the chicken. In a separate, large shallow, plate, combine two tablespoons of the oil with the balsamic vinegar. Take your chicken pieces and put them in between pieces of plastic wrap and pound them to a thickness of about ¾ of an inch using a rolling pin or mallet. After pounding, dip the chicken in your oil and vinegar mixture, coating each side evenly. Season each piece lightly with salt and pepper, then cover them and let stand for about 15 minutes in order for the flavors to sink into the chicken.

Prepare the grill and put it to high heat. If using a gas grill, prepare the grill to medium heat, getting ready to fan flames if they get too out of control. Before laying your chicken down on it, lightly coat your grill rack with oil.

Prepare your grapefruit by cutting off the top and bottom of the fruit and removing the white pith from the fruit. Start the cut from above going downwards. Once you’ve peeled the fruit completely, put the meat in a fine strainer and cut between the sections of the fruit using a paring knife. Collect al the fruit and the juice in the bowl, making sure to squeeze the extra juice out of any remaining pulp.

After all that, the chicken is done marinating and is ready to be grilled. Cook each side for about four minutes until the chicken is just cooked through. Once cooked, transfer them to a chopping board and cut them into ¼ to ½ inch wide strips. Cover the pieces loosely to keep them warm. Drain the grapefruit segments and reserve the juice for later on.

While the chicken is grilling, the vinaigrette can already be prepared. Whisk together the remaining oils, 1 tablespoon reserved grapefruit juice and mustard in a large mixing bowl. Snip the chives and whisk them well into the mixture. Don’t forget to ad salt and pepper and adjust as you go along. Finally, add the arugula to finally toss and lightly coat each leaf.

Now, you can plate your salad. Arrange some of the arugula leaves on a plate, topping it with chicken slices and some of the grapefruit segments. Drizzle each plate with some vinaigrette and top it off with soaked peppercorns. Serve the salad immediately and enjoy.
grilled chicken salad, grilled chicke marinade

Technorati Tags: grilled chicken salad, grilled chicke marinade

Oven Baked Chicken with wine vinegar recipe
Ingredients:

Technorati Tags: oven baked chicken, baked chicken with wine vinegar

Chicken au Vinaigre recipe

One whole roasting chicken about three and half pounds
six tablespoons butter
four cloves unpeeled garlic
sea salt and ground pepper
four tablespoons chopped chives
four tablespoons Italian parsley minced
three quarters cup red wine vinegar
8 ounces duck or veal stock
two tablespoons tomato paste, can be sun-dried tomato paste
one third cup heavy cream
sprigs of Italian parsley and chives

Cut the chicken into quarters. Rinse and dry the chicken and rub it with sea salt and fresh ground pepper. Put butter in a large frying pan over medium heat. Add the chicken pieces. Brown until chicken is deep golden color on both sides. Add the garlic cloves and turn frequently. Do not let the chicken burn, but cook until browned. Sprinkle two tablespoons of chives and two tablespoons of parsley over the chicken, cover the pan, lower the heat and let the chicken simmer slowly for about 20 minutes. Remove chicken and place in a warming dish. Keep warm in the oven at very low heat. Using the same frying pan over high heat, add vinegar and scrape and de-glaze the pan quickly. Now add the stock and tomato paste. Stir constantly and reduce sauce by one half. Press the pulp out of the cooked garlic cloves with a fork and discard the peelings. Blend the cooked garlic into the sauce. Strain the sauce and return to the pan. (You may stop with the recipe at this point until all meal accoutrements are complete. In the next step you’ll add the cream, and the dish should be served immediately.)

Technorati Tags: chicken recipe, chicken vinegar recipe

Makes about 2 cups

Pesto, or pesto sauce, is a simple puree of fresh basil, garlic, cheese, and fine olive oil. It is vitally important when making pesto that you use a fine quality olive oil in your recipe. If you must rinse the basil, be sure to dry it thoroughly before beginning. Also if you must store your pesto after making it, drizzle just enough olive oil over the surface to thinly cover and prevent discoloration.

Ingredients:

4 cups fresh basil leaves
10 cloves of garlic peeled
¾ cup extra virgin olive oil
5 tablespoons soft butter
¾ fresh grated gourmet Parmesan cheese
4 tablespoons fresh grated Romano cheese
½ cup pine nuts

Method:

Put basil leaves in a blender or food processor.
Add garlic cloves and blend at the medium speed setting.
Slowly pour in ½ cup olive oil while running.
Stop and scrape off basil from sides occasionally.
After basil is finely pureed, spoon the mixture into a mixing bowl.
Fold the softened butter into the basil mixture. Now add the grated cheeses and blend well. Add the remaining olive oil to the blend, and stir in pine nuts. When serving pesto over pasta or fish, you can thin it with one or two tablespoons of hot water. Pesto is not meant to be cooked.

Technorati Tags: pesto sauce, pesto recipe, Italian pesto

Roasted tomatoes in this flavorful warm salsa makes a Chicken Scallopini special. You will need deli thin-sliced chicken for the scallopini, or slice boneless, skinless chicken breast halves. This recipe would also work well with turkey cutlets.

- 2 pints stemmed cherry or grape tomatoes, large ones cut into quarters, smaller ones cut in half
- 1 medium sweet onion, finely chopped (about 1 cup)
- ¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil
-Sea Salt
- Freshly ground pepper
- 1 ½ pounds thin-sliced boneless, skinless chicken breasts (eight ¼-inch slices)
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter

Heat the oven to 300 degrees.
In a large bowl, toss together the tomatoes, onion and oil; add salt and pepper to taste. Transfer to a shallow baking dish or roasting pan. Bake until the tomatoes are soft and the mixture bubbles, 50 to 60 minutes. Set aside and keep warm.
About 15 minutes before the tomatoes are finished, start cooking the chicken. Sprinkle the scallopine with salt and pepper to taste. In a large frying pan over medium-high heat, add the vegetable oil and butter. When hot, add enough chicken cutlets to fit in the pan without crowding. Cook until lightly browned on one side, 2 to 3 minutes. Turn and cook another 2 to 3 minutes or until cooked through. Set aside and keep warm. Repeat with remaining chicken.
Divide the scallopine among individual plates. Spoon ¼ of the roasted tomato mixture down the center of each portion. Serve immediately. Makes 4 servings.

oil and vinegar recipe, chicken pasta recipe

Technorati Tags: oil and vinegar recipe, chicken pasta recipe

Roast Chicken with Balsamic Vinaigrette

Recipe by Giada De Laurentiis
4 servings
Total cooking time: 55 minutes

Ingredients:
- 1/2 cup aged Balsamic vinegar from Modena
- 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice (from about 1 lemon)
- 1/4 cup Dijon mustard
- 3 garlic cloves, pressed through a garlic press
- 1 teaspoon sea salt
- 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1/2 cup Spanish olive oil
- 1 whole cut-up chicken (about 4-pounds; giblets, neck and backbone reserved for another use)
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
- 1 teaspoon lemon zest (from about 1 lemon)

Method:
In a 13x9x2-inch baking dish, whisk the vinegar, lemon juice, mustard, garlic, and 1 teaspoon each of salt and pepper to blend. Whisk in the oil. Add the chicken pieces and turn to coat. Cover and refrigerate, turning the chicken pieces occasionally, at least 2 hours and up to 1 day.

TIPS
If the chicken gets too dark too quickly, cover it with aluminum foil, and take the foil off and bake uncovered for the last 10 minutes.

balsamic chicken, roasted chicken recipe

Technorati Tags: balsamic chicken, roasted chicken recipe