The Valley of the Sun

Well, not only is my post a week late, but I don't even have that much to say. In the past two weeks, I've cooked only once. Instead, I've been basking in beautiful 78 degree Scottsdale, Arizona, a.k.a. the "Valley of the Sun." Don't worry, dear readers, I've still been eating, more than the recommended daily allowance of pretty much everything. But instead of cooking in, I've been eating out at fabulous restaurants like the Spotted Donkey, Matt's Big Breakfast, and Cave Creek Coffee Company (which I intend to buy if I ever find myself with a second home in Arizona along with excessive amounts of disposable income).

If, like me, you've been suffering from yet another New England winter and you're suddenly plopped down into the dry hot desert, your thoughts might turn not only to food, but also to margaritas. Here's a photo of my first of the trip — a specialty of the Spotted Donkey on North Scottsdale Road. Once I order the necessary prickly pear puree through the mail, I'll give you a recipe.

And, here are the pomegranate margaritas I made at my sister-in-law's the only night I did cook.


And, finally, here is the first tub of two, which I consumed at another place I can't remember the name of because it wasn't as good as the Spotted Donkey.


I did owe my sister-in-law/hostess a belated Christmas present which, lamely, took the form of dinner. So, one night and one night only, we stayed in. I made a pitcher of the aforementioned pomegranate margaritas, a bowl of guacamole, chopped salad, tzatziki, and the best grilled chicken kabob you'll ever have. I'm quite serious. It's adapted from Gourmet's "Foolproof Grilled Chicken," which I highly recommend. You can find the full recipe on epicurious.com. But if, like me (again), your focus is more margarita and less poultry, you may be too tipsy to go through the whole time-consuming brining step and want to just cut to the chase, cube the chicken, and skewer it with sticks. That way you get outside to the grill much quicker — drink in hand and under the sun, where you belong.

Foolproof Grilled Chicken Kabobs
adapted from The Gourmet Cookbook

The key is to put the sauce on the chicken after grilling. Not before.

1/4 c fresh lime juice
2 T Asian fish sauce (some day I'll wax poetic about this particular condiment)
1 large garlic clove, minced
1/4 c finely chopped cilantro
3 T finely chopped mint
1 t red pepper flakes
1 t salt
1/2 c vegetable or canola oil

1.5 lbs boneless chicken cubed

Make the vinaigrette: whisk together the lime juice, fish sauce, garlic, cilantro, mint, red pepper flakes, and 1 t salt in a large bowl. Add oil in slow stream until combined.

I'm realizing that I'm at the point where I should tell you how to grill the chicken. I could either experiment with timing and delay this post another week, or I could just tell you to cook the chicken on your grill until it's cooked through but not dry. I'm going with option number two.

Once the chicken is cooked, transfer to the bowl of vinaigrette and turn to coat. Transfer to a platter and garnish with cilantro and mint.