Saturday, May 12, 2012

Book Eighty-Two: 365 Great Barbecue & Grilling Recipes

by Lonnie Gandara


              Cajun Firesticks with Fire and Ice Dipping Sauce


Saturdays are reserved for "date day" with the hubby. We do a bike ride, go shopping at our upscale market for something to barbecue for dinner and finish off the evening enjoying the lovely weather on the back deck.

This Saturday however Andy had "fun day" with his rock crawling buddies and I did a solo bike ride. But the barbecue is still on! As I write this he is on his way home and the chicken is marinating, the sauce is made and the flavors are melding.


Andy's toys.

This recipe is listed under the chapter Hot Beginnings (appetizer). I chose to serve it as a main course. Instead of buying chicken breasts and cutting them up I purchased one package of chicken tenders just under a pound and this turned out to be the perfect amount for the two of us.

The Fire & Ice Dipping Sauce lives up to its name! It was really spicy, but cool at the same time. Loved it! The recipe calls for two jalapeño peppers; which I recently read about here, that the older, wrinkled ones I would pass up in the store for the "fresher" smooth skinned ones are actually hotter. I used one wrinkled jalapeño and half of a serrano pepper that I had in the fridge; this added some heat to the sauce, where the coolness came from the yogurt and mint.



This is my favorite Cajun spice blend.
It has no added salt. The others I have had
in the past were way too salty for my taste.

Spiced up and ready to marinate for a couple of hours.

The beginnings of a wonderful sauce.

I kept thinking of this as green goddess dressing though
I have never made or had it.

Ready for the grill.

Make sure to soak your wooden skewers in water
 beforehand so they do not burn.


Beautiful evening sky.
Cajun Firesticks with Fire and Ice Dipping Sauce
Serves 8

4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves (about 1 pound)
2 Tbl. Cajun spice blend
1 Tbl. fresh lime juice
1 Tbl. olive oil
Fire and Ice Dipping Sauce (recipe follows)

1.    Rinse chicken with cold water and pat dry. Slice each breast in half lengthwise and then crosswise in quarters to make a total of eight pieces per breast half.
2.    In a medium bowl, combine chicken pieces with Cajun spice blend, lime juice, and olive oil. Toss to coat well. Cover and marinate 1 to 2 hours at room temperature, or up to 24 hours refrigerated. Soak 16 bamboo skewers in water at least 30 minutes to prevent burning.
3.    Prepare hot fire. Thread 2 pieces of chicken onto each skewer and place on an oiled grill set 4 to 6 inches from coals. Grill, turning occasionally, until chicken is white throughout but still moist, about 8 to 10 minutes. Serve with Fire and Ice Dipping Sauce.



Fire and Ice Dipping Sauce
Makes 1 cup

This sauce also makes an excellent marinade for chicken or lamb.

½ cup plain yogurt
2 scallions, coarsely chopped
2 jalapeño peppers, seeded and coarsely chopped
¼ cup loosely packed fresh mint leaves, or 1 tsp. dried
1 Tbl. brown sugar
1 Tbl. fresh lime juice
¾ cup loosely packed cilantro leaves or parsley
Salt and freshly ground white pepper

Combine all ingredients in a food processor or blender. Purée until smooth. Season with salt and white pepper. Cover and refrigerate until serving time.


365 Great Barbecue & Grilling Recipes/Lonnie Gandara



2 comments:

  1. That looks delicious! I love the Saturday date tradition :)

    ReplyDelete
  2. Barbaque is the best thing ever!!!!

    ReplyDelete

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