Brilliant Barbecue Chicken

Summer, traditionally, is a time for barbecues.  The smell of meat grilling on an open fire is incomparable.  Just a waft makes the mouth water.


This evening I prepared this chicken for us, and Quintin, my husband, cooked it on our Weber.  My mother raved about it, licked her fingers!  Jesse couldn't get enough....


It's succulent and soft.  Try it.  You won't believe the flavour!


Brilliant Barbecue Chicken (Serves 4 - 6)


Ingredients


1 whole, raw chicken 
A small onion, roughly chopped
1 -2 cloves of garlic
1 T lemon juice
1 T butter + 1 T butter
Salt
Chicken spice


Method

• Clean the chicken, removing any lose fat and the pope's nose.
• Combine the chopped onion, garlic, lemon juice, butter and a dash of salt.  Mix well to form a paste.
• Carefully ease your fingers underneath the skin of the chicken breast, creating a cavity between the skin and the flesh.  Try not to poke a hole through the skin.
• Gently push about 1 tablespoon of the butter paste underneath the skin, distributing it evenly.
• Sprinkle salt into the abdominal cavity of the chicken.  Rub the remainder of the butter paste all over the inside of the cavity.
• Cut the lemon into quarters.  Squeeze a bit of the juice into the cavity and then place the quarters inside.
• Now rub the other 1 tablespoon of butter all over the outside of the chicken. 
• Sprinkle the entire chicken with a bit of salt and chicken spice.
• Place the chicken on the grill.  Close the lid and grill for 1 and a quarter hours.  It's done when the juices run clear.
• We enjoyed the chicken with a potato salad and a crisp, green salad.

Tips and Hints

• You can prepare the chicken some hours ahead of time and let it stand.  This develops the flavour; sort of like marinading.
• If you prefer slightly spicier chicken, grate the onion and the garlic and add some grated ginger.  Prepare this as part of the butter paste.
• You can prepare this chicken for the oven, too.  Bake covered at around 160 degrees C for about an hour.  For the last 15 minutes, bake without the lid.  Also, make sure that the chicken is not lying in it's sauce for this last cooking time.  Pour this sauce off first and lift the chicken onto a rack.  This final baking time will crispen the skin.

Enjoy!

Have a lovely day.

Shelley

Bacon, Pineapple and Mozzarella Chicken "Cordon Bleu"

My parents, Hein and Elaine, are visiting us in Mauritius at the moment. Very nice having visitors, but with the heat one doesn't really feel much like cooking. But, must live so must cook....


My mother, Elaine, loves to collect recipes. She's always looking through magazines and tearing out interesting-looking ideas. Well, she has piles and piles of recipes. Thanks to her, here's another fantastic supper idea. Jesse, my 5-year-old son, loves the mushroom and cheese sauce, while Abigail, my 6-year-old daughter just sprinkles lemon juice over. So the choice of sauce is up to you.


Just a little bit of effort and you can enjoy something really delicious tonight.


Bacon, Pineapple and Mozzarella Chicken "Cordon Bleu" (Serves 4 - 6)


Ingredients


6 chicken breast fillets
6 strips of back bacon
Canned pineapple chunks
6 slices of mozzarella cheese, approx. 2 x2 cm each
1 cup dried breadcrumbs mixed with about 1 T parmesan cheese, grated
1 egg, beaten
About 1/2 cup cake flour
Salt and pepper
Toothpicks
Olive oil


Method

• Pre-heat oven to 180° C (360° F).
• Place the baking tray that you will be using, sprinkled with a little olive, in the oven to heat up along with oven.
• Slice through each chicken breast (but not right through) and open up to a "butterfly" position.
• Place each breast in a plastic packet and flatten lightly with a rolling pin.
• On each open breast, place a piece of bacon, then mozzarella, and then some pineapple.
• Fold each chicken breast over and secure with some toothpicks.
• Very lightly season the chicken (remember that the bacon is a little salty already).
• Roll each parcel in some cake flour, then in the beaten egg and then in the breadcrumb and Parmesan mix.
• Drizzle a little oil over each breast.
• Carefully place each parcel onto the pre-heated baking tray and bake approximately 10 minutes each side. Bake until golden brown.
• Serve with a mushroom and cheese sauce, mashed potatoes and some crunchy vegetables and a crisp salad.

Tips and Ideas

• Be careful of over-baking.  The chicken will become hard.  Not nice.
• This type of chicken works just as well with ham instead of the bacon and just the mozzarella.
• Also, you can omit the parmesan cheese, but it really does add that extra hint of flavour.
• Plain mushroom or plain cheese sauce is just as delicious.

Delicious, even in hot weather!


Kind Regards


Shelley

Chicken and Litchi Salad

Well, it's happened at last!  We have a Fruit and Veg City in Black River, Mauritius.  What makes it so amazing is that we often have very little fresh produce here, or rather, the produce is limited and very expensive.  Or just plain sad-looking.


This morning my husband, Quintin, and I were of the first people to walk through the doors of Fruit and Veg City, known as Food Lovers Market, here in Black River.  After months of really dreary lettuce we found some delicious iceberg lettuce.  Ok.  So it cost quite a bit, but I grabbed one and Quintin immediately asked for a salad for supper.


You see, one of his favourite meals is Chicken and Litchi Salad.


It's very hot and humid here in Mauritius at the moment and I've been craving a salad, so I jumped at the opportunity!


So, here's the recipe.  I think you'll enjoy it as well.


Chicken and Litchi Salad (Serves 6)


Ingredients:
6 chicken breasts, cooked, diced and cooled
About 10 rashers bacon, sliced thinly and fried crispy, cooled
1 large lettuce
Approximately 1 - 2 tomatoes per person
1 large cucumber
Green, red and yellow peppers (if you like)


Sauce
1 large onion
1 tsp butter (or tablespoon olive oil)
1 tsp mild (or hotter, if you like) curry powder
60 ml white wine (or water)
15 ml tomato sauce
15 ml chutney
5 ml lemon juice
1 tin litchis, drained - reserve the juice and the litchis
15 ml cornflour
60 - 100 ml mayonnaise
50 ml cream
Salt and pepper to taste


Method

• Fry the onions in the butter or olive oil until transparent.  
• Stir in the curry powder.
• Add the white wine (or water), tomato sauce, chutney and lemon juice and simmer gently for about 5 minutes.
• Add half the juice of the litchis.
• Mix the cornflour into the other half of the litchi juice and and then add this to the above.  
• Stir until slightly thickened. 
• Remove from heat and stir in mayonnaise and cream.
• Add the previously cooked chicken.
• You can chop up some of the litchis and add this to the sauce.  Reserve the remainder to put on the top of the salad.
• Chill until ready to serve.

Put it all together

1. Tear the lettuce into medium-sized chunks.  Distribute between 6 plates.
2. Chop up the tomatoes, cucumber and peppers and divide between the plates.
3. Spoon the chilled chicken sauce over each salad.
4. Top with the remainder of the litchis.
5. Sprinkle the bacon over the top.
6. Serve.

Tips and Ideas

• For a healthier version, replace the mayonnaise with low fat plain yoghurt and the cream with fat-free cream or fat-free milk.  This version does not produce quite so smooth a sauce, so be warned.  Also, the sauce has a more runny consistency, so add another 5 ml cornflour to thicken the sauce a little more.
• My mother-in-law, Beulah, only serves this salad on a bed of lettuce topped with tiny cooked and cooled pasta shapes.  She omits the other salad items.  
• This version is also delicious.  I've also added feta, chunks of cheddar or mozzarella.  Sprinkle some nuts over, if you like, like pecans or even cashews.  All very nice as well.

Enjoy!
Have a lovely day.
Shelley