No Afterthoughts Here

July 23, 2024
Beloved:
            I usually attach the recipe like an afterthought but this one was soooo good.  Only now I’m wondering if it was the food or that moment in time that was so satisfying.  Marco Polo, the Uyghur (pronounced Wee-Gur) restaurant on Grant Street was our original plan but it was closed yesterday so we decided to come home and cook.  I had just saved this newspaper recipe and between my freezer, fridge and garden, we had everything to make it, with the adjustments noted in parentheses (in the recipe below).  The largest adjustment being I don’t own a grill.  And by we, I mean my son Ben.  He’s the best kind of cook, with the brain of a scientist, the knife skills of a sous chef and the heart of a home cook.  The most unpretentious foodie ever, he just loves to feed people good food.  We are of one mind about fresh corn - that frozen is cheaper, faster and more consistently better tasting.  We throw extra things that sound good to us.  Cilantro and jalapeno almost always sound good to us.

Mostly I fetched things from the garden, cleaned up behind him and listened to him talk:  about the presidential election, stories about his friends in DC, his impending move to New York.  I’ve been listening to him talk for a long, long time.  Only during his Star Wars phase, around age five or six, did I sometimes get the teensiest bit antsy with his enthusiasm for all things Tatooine.  Then I’d say, Oh darn, Ben, my shields are up.  I can’t hear you, and I’d catch a little break.  Otherwise, listening to him talk has been one of life’s most precious gifts to me.  As much fun as having little kids was, I love the amazing grownups they have become.  They are good people:  good to themselves, good to each other, good to their friends and good to people in need they come across.  They care about the world and do good work in it.  They have always been sweet to me, but especially these last two years, their goodness has poured like honey on my heart,* enabling me to carry on in their good company and light.   I’ll 

miss Ben like crazy when he moves next month, but he’s lived much farther away than New York.  We’re figuring out a time for me to visit, and in the meantime we both have unlimited phone plans.

So, maybe this is the best chicken ever, or maybe it is just average.  But good company makes average meals amazing, don’t you know.  If you don’t make this, make something.  Or order in.  Then gather with some people you love around a table someplace quiet with nothing else to do but eat and talk and listen.  See if it isn’t the best thing you’ve tasted in forever.

~ peace & prayers, 
pastor annette
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*Honey on my heart is a saying I picked up from Dalia Owino years ago, for being deeply relieved by the kindness of others.  Another, “_______ just burns my brain,” from Dalia’s niece Mary Elizabeth, in reference to Algebra II, or anything that makes you think so hard your head aches.

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Grilled Chicken Thighs and Corn With Lime-Basil Butter 
By Clare de Boer * NYT Cooking *
Published July 12, 2024 * Yield:4 servings

• 2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs (4 bone-in chicken thighs with skin)
• 3 garlic cloves, finely grated
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• Kosher salt (such as Diamond Crystal) and black pepper
• Juice and zest of 2 limes (bottled lime juice)
• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature (salted)
• 1 cup basil leaves
• 4 ears of corn, shucked (12 oz bag of frozen corn)
• Flaky sea salt, to finish 
• (½ bunch of cilantro, chopped)
• (1 small jalapeno, chopped)

Step 1 ~ Place the chicken thighs in a large bowl and season with the garlic, olive oil, 1 ¾ teaspoons salt and juice of 1 lime.  Toss to coat.  Let marinate at room temperature while the grill heats up or, ideally, refrigerate, covered, overnight.  (Yeah, we didn’t marinate - but agreed it would have improved it.)

Step 2 ~ To make the lime-basil butter, place the butter, lime zest, ¾ cup basil leaves, ¼ teaspoon salt and 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper in a food processor and whizz until basil is chopped and incorporated.  Refrigerate overnight or leave out of the fridge if you’re ready to grill.  (Nope, not this either - but it’s a great idea if you are the kind who plans ahead.)

Step 3 ~ When ready to cook, light the grill to medium-high.  If needed, remove the chicken and lime-basil butter from the fridge and place the butter near the grill so it softens.  Place the ears of corn on one side of the grill, turning every 3 minutes or so, until cooked through and lightly charred, 10 to 20 minutes total.  Pull the corn off the grill and slice off the charred kernels.  Place them on a serving platter and top with some of the basil butter.  (We did all this in a second skillet, cooking the corn concoction, then adding the butter and getting it all hot and yum.)

Step 4 ~ While the corn is cooking and being sliced, place the chicken on the grill flat sides down.  Char until it releases from the grates easily, 5 to 7 minutes.  Rotate the chicken slightly, without flipping, to get more color on the first side.  Pay attention to how the color develops and when areas of the first side become chestnut in color and look delicious, flip the chicken and grill for another 3 to 5 minutes.  Continue rotating and flipping every few minutes until the chicken is cooked through.  To check if the chicken is cooked, poke a knife into the thickest part of the meat.  The juices should run clear and the meat should no longer be translucent.  (We seared the chicken stove top then to the oven uncovered to sizzle and bake to 165 degrees.  Take out and let it rest a few minutes.)

Step 5 ~ Remove the chicken from the grill, slice each thigh in half across its widest part and place slices on top of the corn.  Spoon the remaining basil butter on top of the hot chicken and sprinkle over remaining basil leaves, the remaining lime juice and flaky salt.  Grind some extra black pepper over the top.  (We didn’t slice it.  We plated it from the stove with a layer of corn, then a chicken thigh, chopped cilantro, salt and pepper.  Sliced tomatoes on the side) 
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Note:  The corn is great all on its own - double or triple the amount for awesome potluck.

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