Tuesday, July 26, 2011

Made Grilled Chicken with Basil Dressing


Tuesday nights in our house are quickly turning into Madeley Family dinners.  Not intending to start a tradition, we asked Brian's dad to join us for dinner a few weeks ago while B's Mom was out of town.  Week 1 we enjoyed Flank Steak with 'Poppy' at our house.  Week 1 turned into week 2 at Kathleen's Sky Diner and tonight we enjoyed this wonderful grilled chicken with fresh basil dressing with both of Brian's parents, Poppy and Peaches, back at our house.  I love hearing about the Madeley's having dinner with their parents when they first got married.  Sometimes I think that we are much like Peaches & Poppy having dinner with their parents, talking about all the happenings of the week and laughing at recent stories.  At the close of dinner I was told, "That was delicious Mrs. Madeley" and thought Peaches might have said that to another Madeley woman so many years back.    

Tuesday nights are starting to become some of my favorites as we carry on a tradition of family dinners!

We all enjoyed this wonderful chicken off the grill and incredibly tasty basil dressing.  Peaches brought roasted vegetables as our side dish and I could not help but nearly drinking the dressing so I coated the veggies in the dressing.  Yum!  

2/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
3 tbs. fresh lemon juice, plus 1/4 c. (2 large lemons)
1 1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. freshly ground pepper
5 chicken breasts 
1 3/4 cup lightly packed fresh basil leaves
1 large garlic clove
1 tsp. grated lemon peel

Whish 1/3 cup olive oil, 3 tbs. lemon juice, 3/4 tsp. salt and 1/2 tsp. pepper.  Pour mixture into resealable plastic bag.  Add the chicken breasts and seal the bag for marinating.  Massage the marinade into the chicken and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes - the longer the better.

Blend the basil, garlic, lemon peel, remaining 1/4 cup lemon juice, 3/4 tsp. salt and 1/2 tsp. pepper in blender or food processor until smooth.  I added the additional 3/4 cup basil as my mixture was too soupy at first.  Gradually blend in the remaining 1/3 cup olive oil.  Test the sauce and season with salt and pepper as needed.

Prepare the grill on high heat.  Remove chicken from marinade, discarding the marinade, and place pieces on the grill.  Turn down the heat to medium-low and cook on each side 8-10 minutes.  Transfer the cooked chicken to a serving platter and drizzle sauce or serve separately in a side dish.  

My notes:
The original recipe calls for fennel seeds but I omitted because I did not have any.  It also calls for pieces of bone-in chicken.  I just used the amount of chicken I knew we would eat.  

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