Grilled Chicken Thighs, Wynne

Wednesday, September 22, 2010

Fellow volunteer and good Samaritan, Joy Shepherd invited us over for dinner to visit with Mary Margaret Meyer, who is in town for a week with husband Ben and precious 2-1/2 year old Maggie Grace. Mary Margaret and I have been good friends over the last decade. We met in St. Louis on our annual couples trip to see the Cardinals and have been good buddies ever since. Jackie and I threw an engagement party for her and Ben 8 years ago. We had the hostesses dress alike, white shirts and khaki pants, to look like stewardesses. Ben is a pilot with Delta Airlines and at the time, she was a stewardess. We had a great time and even received a prank phone call from Matt Boone, fellow host, that it was Sargent Pettigrew, and we needed to keep the noise down. So what did I do? I shut the party down! Fun times and it seems like an eternity since that great party.

Mary Margaret is also a founding member of our girls trips. The first one was a trip to New York in 2007, then to Fayetteville and last year she joined us at the Alluvian in Greenwood, Miss. She missed our Hot Springs trip this year because she's due to have a baby in December. How exciting! We'll have to get her back in the girls trips next year.

Well tonight we all met at John and Joy's and did a potluck style dinner. The kids ran around and played on their very nice property. I'm really sad I didn't take some photos of it. Joy made the most delicious hash brown casserole and dump cake that was divine. Becca Jackson brought a cheese ball and rolls. Oh and Joy made hummus and salsa, both so good and out of the garden. A new tip that Joy told me about was freezing jalapenos. Now I have to confess that I have been a gardener now for 12 years and have never heard of this. Joy said to freeze your fresh produce in a Ziploc bag and just pull one out when you need it. Amazing and I can't wait to start this practice since I have dozens of japs, serranos, pablanos and bell peppers. I'll let you know how it works this winter. Joy is always so good about sharing her good, inside information. She's also influenced me to appreciate sushi (as does Kara).

Kara brought a salad with blue cheese, her own tomatoes and homemade balsamic and raspberry vinaigrette. It was so good! I grilled the chicken thighs at home and brought them, I know that's weird but I hate to see a bunch of men watching me over the grill. Plus I always panic about the flame and doneness of my chicken. This is Kara's grandfather's recipe that she's used for years. Jeanie, my mother-in-law, remarked once that Winnie Bob had a similar recipe like this one. I love, love it and haven't ruined it yet.

Kara's Grilled Chicken

1-1/2-2 Cups White Vinegar
1 stick butter
3 T each of garlic powder, worcestershire and salt
1/2 t. fresh ground pepper
6-8 skin on and bone in chicken thighs, I always take the skin off

Mix ingredients and pour over thighs. I let them hang out then fire up the charcoal grill. This gives the chicken 45 minutes to come to room temperature before going on the grill. (you don't have to marinate the chicken, and shouldn't) Place chicken on grill that's been sprayed with non-stick cooking spray. Grill 8 minutes then dip chicken back in the marinade and place on the grill on the other side. Grill another 8 minutes or so with the lid on the whole time. I really struggled today with flames because of the butter, so I used my ironing spray bottle to de-flame them (is that a word?). Then dip for the second time in the marinade and grill until done, another 8 minutes. The time can vary depending on how hot your grill is and how many chicken thighs you're serving. Remove from grill and let hang out 20 minutes or longer and serve. The chicken tonight hung out for 2 hours and was delicious, I thought!

Joy introduced everyone to her fall tradition of peanuts and candy corn. She had some on the breakfast bar near Mary Margaret and I. It was like eating a payday candy bar or snickers without chocolate. It was so good. Of course, Jackie refused to try it, he's funny that way. So Chloe picked out a bunch of candy corn and after homework and shower last night, placed candy corn every where. This morning he had candy corn in his wallet, in the cabinet (photo) and in his Carnation Instant Breakfast box. We got a chuckle out of that this morning. Chloe confessed that she hadn't tried the combination either but seriously wanted her dad to. Very funny!

I decided I'd add a photo of Chloe from last week's soccer game. She didn't want to go to the game because she was scared of getting hit like she did at practice. She survived and the game ended in a tie.