Lots going on in the world today. First and foremost, the Supreme Court has ruled in favor of gay marriage nationwide. About bloody time. This morning, I was at Woo Spa on Selwyn waiting for my lovely girl to work her magic with my eyebrows, which become quite Brezhnev-like in appearance after a pair of weeks neglect. If this doesn't resonate, google the man. As I was a bit early, I chatted with a young man visiting from Nashville. He is a premiere Trish McEvoy makeup artist and in town as well as on site for consultations. The news broke as we were gabbing and he missed a call from his mother. In her message, she spoke to this historical day and it importance to him. Her words, its relevance and the excited look on his face warmed my heart. I actually went back later in the day for a makeover and now I am ready for the weekend, looking quite glam. Ample discussion surrounding the confederate flag. Bristol Palin is pregnant, again. Two prison escapees are still on the run and it seems that they were able to escape thanks to some inside help. Don't we all watch enough Orange is the New Black to know if one helps an inmate escape, there are consequences? This show is totally my jam. Across the ponds, Shabani, an 18 year old silverback gorilla, is causing quite a stir at his hometown in Nagoya, Japan. Apparently the ladies are flocking to Higashiyma Zoo to fan themselves while staring at this "handsome" thing. I read that the ladies are literally swooning. For a gorilla. Honestly.The Hornets use their number nine pick to secure Frank Kaminsky. He is over 7 foot tall. That's tall. Finger's crossed MJ. The Magnum P.I. series is coming to Netflix in July and lastly, thanks to my useful daily online perusing, I learned that the most popular baby names in the state of North Carolina are Ava and William. Never mind Eva Braun was Adolf's mistress. Different spelling but your call.
Yesterday afternoon I did something that was a culinary first for me. It was so much fun that I wanted to replicate said again and again. I butterflied my very own roasting chicken. It's quite simple really and I am annoyed there was no one in the kitchen with me to film the magic. Now I should say, I am not usually a fan of managing bare meat. Insert jokes here. Usually Matthew takes ownership of cleaning our birds. I do not like touching the innards nor do I relish in removing skin. This being said, I am now a convert. No gloves necessary. You simply flip a bird breast down on a surface. You can feel its backbone with your fingers. Gently now. Just kidding, want to ensure that you are still following me. With a pair of poultry scissors, starting at the side of the bird facing you, cut alongside the backbone. Next you duplicate cutting on the other side. Now simply remove the backbone and open the chicken. Voila. I recommend cutting off any lingering skin, which I find very displeasing though I am sure others have sensible use for it. One day, one day. If you want to go a step further as I did, you remove the breastbone. You will see a circular bone near to the breasts. Simply cut along its exterior and snap to remove. You are left with a beautiful, butterflied chicken that is ready for manipulation. Rinse under cold water and prepare for dressing. Are we having fun yet?
I encourage you to try grilling a whole chicken. The remaining bones give gorgeous flavor and the whole shebang is much cheaper to cook than its independent parts. This ain't your fraternity brother's beer can chicken! I butterflied our chicken as the below jerk recipe calls for grilling the chicken on the barbecue. This grilling technique also mandated a bit of due diligence. Basically you want to get your grill good and hot, approximately 500 degrees. This means turning up the burners, keeping the lid closed and patiently waiting for around ten minutes. Once the grill reaches 500, turn one of the burners off and place your butterflied chicken on top of it. This indirect heat will be what gets your bird in order. Close the lid and leave it shut for 45 minutes. Don't open it as heat escapes. After 45 minutes, the chicken will be a lovely golden color. Now you want to flip the bird breast side down on top of the burner that is still lit. Close the lid and leave for 15 minutes. After 15 minutes, move the chicken to a plate or platter let the chicken rest for 15 minutes before digging in. You will have gorgeous marinated breasts, wings, thighs and legs at your disposal. Be sure to have napkins handy and of course, a full tank of gas. We didn't, which warranted a quick trip to the Circle K down the street. The below recipe is a cinch to pull together and indeed #thebusiness.
I encourage you to try grilling a whole chicken. The remaining bones give gorgeous flavor and the whole shebang is much cheaper to cook than its independent parts. This ain't your fraternity brother's beer can chicken! I butterflied our chicken as the below jerk recipe calls for grilling the chicken on the barbecue. This grilling technique also mandated a bit of due diligence. Basically you want to get your grill good and hot, approximately 500 degrees. This means turning up the burners, keeping the lid closed and patiently waiting for around ten minutes. Once the grill reaches 500, turn one of the burners off and place your butterflied chicken on top of it. This indirect heat will be what gets your bird in order. Close the lid and leave it shut for 45 minutes. Don't open it as heat escapes. After 45 minutes, the chicken will be a lovely golden color. Now you want to flip the bird breast side down on top of the burner that is still lit. Close the lid and leave for 15 minutes. After 15 minutes, move the chicken to a plate or platter let the chicken rest for 15 minutes before digging in. You will have gorgeous marinated breasts, wings, thighs and legs at your disposal. Be sure to have napkins handy and of course, a full tank of gas. We didn't, which warranted a quick trip to the Circle K down the street. The below recipe is a cinch to pull together and indeed #thebusiness.
Jerk Chicken on the Grill
Adapted from NYTimes Cooking
Ingredients
Two 4 pound chickens - butterfly your bird as explained above
6-8 green onions
2 shallots - peeled
3 small green chilies
3 inch knob of ginger - peeled
6 garlic cloves - peeled
1/4 cup of thyme leaves - time consuming but worth the flavor
2 TBS allspice
2 TBS soy sauce
2 TBS brown sugar
1 TBS kosher salt
1 TBS black pepper
1/3 cup of olive oil
1 TBS white wine vinegar
Juice of 2 limes
Man the Grill
1. After your chicken has been butterflied and cleaned, pat it dry and set in a dish for rubbing.
2. Put everything from the green onions down to the juice of 2 limes in a Cuisinart or blender and puree until smooth. Now comes the messy job of rubbing this green paste all over your bird. Wrap in saran and put in the fridge for 2 hours. Grill according to instructions above. I served ours with kale sautéed in coconut oil and black beans with cumin. I had a thigh and a leg for lunch today. Finger licking good spectacular.
Also, if you so desire dessert (which we will be all about this weekend), check out this brilliant tutorial for making ice cream sandwiches. I love PureWow and encourage you to also become a daily subscriber.
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