It Takes a Strong Man to Make a Tender Chicken

One time while in Liquor Land in Boston, I was telling the story to a whiskey rep about how I got made fun of for adding ice to my bourbon. He told me, "It takes a strong man to make a tender chicken."

While I was on Martha's Vineyard, Sami gave me some lavender. I'm hoping for more so Noel and I can use it in this year's Christmas Spirit. At first I was thinking I'd infuse my own olive oil with this batch. By the time I got off the ferry in Falmouth, I had come up with a meal that was blog quality: lemon lavender chicken. Monday I was in Melrose, talking to one of my favorite foodies, Rebecca, at Becon Hill Wine and Gorumet. She mentioned how she had just sold out of a lemon olive oil she sells. As I drove away, I couldn't get the oil out of my mind and it came to me: infuse my own lemon olive oil. It was pretty easy, and I really feel it made this meal more gourmet, and I get bragging rights that I took the time to infuse the oil.

Tuesday night I made the oil.
THE OIL:
First you need the zest of two lemons (about a cup give or take). I don't have a zest tool (WTF I don't have something? Don't worry it's now on the list near the top!) so I used a cheese grater. In a sauce pan I added one cup oil, the lemon and cooked it on low for 15 minutes making sure to stir every few minutes. Then I let it sit for two hours. About 10 minutes into the resting I decided to add a tablespoon lavender, I wish I had thought about this before I started. After the two hours I poured the oil into my oil holder, it's a dark red ceramic jar, perfect so no sun light can cause the lemon oil to go bad. So easy, so much fun and I will do this over and over again.

THE CHICKEN:
So after the oil was done I took two tablespoons of the lemon/lavender mix and added a tablespoon fresh lavender, a teaspoon pink peppercorns and half teaspoon sea salt (I added the fresh items to the mortar and crushed them up a little). I put them all in a ziplock bag with a 1/4 cup infused olive oil and four chicken thighs and marinated them over night.

All day I had chicken on the brain, I could't wait to make this meal that I have been thinking about since Sunday. When I started dinner pre-heated the oven to 400. I stuck a meat thermometer in one of thighs (I don't like going off time I rather know my meat is done especially chicken! Thighs need to be at 175F.) and stuck it in the oven. After the temperature got to around 80F (it started at 55F) I dropped the heat down to 350F and covered the chicken with tin foil. Right after that was done I started the wild rice. I love wild rice it goes so well with everything and makes it feel more special of a meal. When the chicken got to 150F I uncovered the chicken. By that time the rice was done and I started the summer squash. I cut the squash with the mandolin and pan fried them in the lemon oil, three minutes a side. They came great and had a small hint of caramel. The whole meal came out better than I could have ever imagined. The chicken was little more lemon and less lavender than I had hoped for but cooked wise it was PERFECT! Tender and juicy, just perfect!!

The wine tonight was harder than I thought. Right away I wanted to drink a Gamay with it. Gamay is famous for being the only grape from Beaujolais. It's a weird grape, similarish to Pinot Noir, well kinda. They can be very fragrant, fruit forward and fresh, floral esters. When young they can be tart and are not a grape that is known for aging. I myself am not a huge fan of the wines of Beaujolais but the Gamay from the Lorie Valley can be more lively and tarter. So I went out looking for a Lorie Valley Gamay. None of the stores that I visited or called had one. I was real disappointed until I found a bottle of Cinsault at the Wine Emporium on Columbus Ave. I have never seen a bottle of single varietal Cinsault before and Laura the wine buyer was sure the wine would go with the meal. I was more than excited to try this one, Domaine Des Terres Falmet. It's a very simple yet delightful wine. It has a very nice floral nose with hints of lavender and spice and the palate has wonderful cherries, herbs and pepper. It went awesome with the meal and was a great addition to my off the beaten path wines.

The Love of Shucking and Wine

Noel and I had a great weekend on Martha's Vineyard visiting our friends Sami J and Erik. They live year round on the island so all we have to do is get our asses to the island and we have, not only have a place to stay, but awesome tour guides to shuttle us around the island. Sami is a great garden artist on the island. She has many famous and rich clients that depend on her to make their million dollar homes look even more outstanding. Erik is an all around outdoorsman. He runs a very cool and very successful kayak tour on the island, Martha's Vineyard Eco Adventure. If you are ever on the island make sure to take a tour, he grew up on the island and knows it like the back of his hand.

The first night after dinner and a few bottles of wine we went down Lambert's Cove it's a bioluminescence beach. As we played in the water, we made the ocean glitter in color. It was so magical!! Saturday we went to State Beach, but the most amazing thunderstorm rolled over us and we had to vacate the beach bumming for a few hours. When we did get back to the ocean we went to a small beach near their house. It was very picturesque beach in the harbor over looking the Cape. After a little sun bathing, I went out and braved the cold Atlantic water. Later on that night we made it to a local food truck, the Artcliff Diner. This when I realized how cool and hip Martha's Vineyard really is. I had a lobster taco that was pretty good, the pig sandwich I also got was outstanding. After a fierce round of Apples to Apples (I didn't win, didn't even come close), we ended the night at Backdoor Donuts. They make an apple fritter that men would kill over!! You can smell this place blocks away. They open at 730pm, that's right-  they open at night and they sell out of the backdoor of Martha's Vineyard Gourmet Cafe and Bakery. They make the donuts and fritters fresh, always making sure they are available for the hungry fans, until they close at midnight. There is always a batch in the oven, so they come out warm, and just melt in your mouth. These people have something here, open a bakery late at night, make warm, fresh, donuts for all the drunks and late night munchers of the world, just genius. This place is a must go to next time you are on the island. The last day we spent hanging around Oak Bluffs shopping, having lunch and going to the arcade. Noel bought some really good fudge from Murdicks and I got a really cool clay whistle made in Peru made in the shape of an owl. To avoid traffic going home, Noel and I decided to set the GPS to avoid highways and went back roads home to have one more adventure on our perfect weekend.  

Sami J is a huge foodie and a wonderful chef. She made us mussels in coconut milk that would knock your socks off. We also had Cherrystones, for those of you that don't know your raw bar menu, Cherrystones are a type of clam that are delightful raw. They are have light salty flavor and the meat is a bit sweet and chewy. On the island clams are cheap, about $3 a pound, and Sami J knows how to shuck them! She even taught me!! Saturday on our way back to Sam's house during the thunder storm I decided I wanted more clams. There was so much traffic, Sami left her windows open and we really didn't have time to stop, but as I said traffic was real bad. I jumped out of the car ran in ordered clams, when I went to pay I realize my wallet was in the car, so I had to run after the car to grab money, run back to pay for the clams and get back to the car all before they hit the stop sign (Sami did pull over but only for a minute or two). It was a great Chinese fire drill style move and I was able to buy 18 more clams. As soon as we got back I couldn't wait to open all of them. I got pretty good at it!!

Holding a clam in your hand with the point of the shell facing away from you use a pairing knife, find the edge of the two shells and lightly force the knife in the clam (making sure not to cut yourself) and pull it straight across the two sides until you have cut the mussels and opened the shell. Then cut around making sure get up all the claim, squeeze  lemon or a lime in with the meat and enjoy.

For the wine the first night I made sure to bring us a bottle of Durenburg L&T Gruner Veltliner. The L&T stand for light and dry. This wine is great wine for a hot summer night and shell fish dinner. Very crisp with citrus and light apple fruit flavor, this wine is very food friendly and can pair well with a lot of the foods that are difficult to pair wine with, like asparagus and artichokes. It was a perfect pick for Cherrystones and mussels dinner. Gruner Veltliner is the most widely grown grape in Austria. Slowly over the years the quality of this wine really began to shine. It keeps on with my whole drink something different. Gruner Veltliner is the next Sauvignon Blanc or Pinot Grigio. This wine will make everyone happy, from the old ladys that need their glass of Pinot Grigio ever night, to the real wine lover.

Sami J and Erik thank you for the great weekend! I can't wait to make lavender chicken with some of the lavender you gave us! Noel and I were talking on the boat ride back to the main land and next we want to take the last boat out of town and cook you two a nice Sunday night meal!! And Chef Timmy don't think bacon pesto won't be on the menu, it's my new signature dish!!