Roasted jalapenos give chicken smoky heat

Grits with chicken and tomatillo sauce

HBy Katie Workman

ere’s the drill with butterflying – or spatchcocking – a bird. You cut the backbone out of the chicken with kitchen shears, then turn the bird over and press down on the breastbone until the bird lies somewhat flat.

It’s not difficult to do, but a) you need sharp kitchen shears, and b) you have to be comfortable using them on poultry. If either of those things poses a problem, ask the butcher to do it for you (that’s what I do).

Why spatchcock a chicken? It cooks more quickly and evenly, and also allows for some nice overall browning. Another somewhat arbitrary reason I discovered is that if you are using all of the racks in your oven, a spatchcocked chicken takes up less headroom. Fun fact.

Piri Piri chicken originated in Africa when Portuguese settlers arrived with bird’s-eye chili peppers (“piri-piri” means “pepper-pepper” in Swahili).

Here jalapenos are used, which have a more predictable level of heat and are readily available. Four jalapenos may seem like a lot, but once you remove the seeds and ribs and roast the peppers, you will be left with a soft, level, nice, smoky heat, but hardly a tongueburning level of spiciness.

Either use plastic gloves when handling the jalapenos or wash your hands right afterward with plenty of warm water and soap. You only have to touch your eyes or lips once with jalapeno hands to know why. The longer you marinate the chicken, the deeper the flavor.

If you don’t have hot paprika, you can substitute regular paprika and a couple of generous pinches of cayenne pepper.

Serve this chicken with rice, either plain or yellow, and a green salad. Beer would be a great companion. And should there be any leftovers, they make a great chicken salad.

Chicken Piri Piri

Serves 4 Start to finish: 3 hours 20 minutes, including 2 hours marinating time, 1 hour cooking time

If the chicken is already butterflied, move to the next step. If not, cut the backbone out of the chicken with kitchen shears, then turn the bird over and press down on the breastbone until the bird lies somewhat flat.

Cut the jalapenos in half, and remove the seeds and stems. Spread the jalapenos on a baking sheet, cut side down. Roast about 15 minutes, until slightly shriveled. Let the jalapenos cool. Combine the jalapenos, oil, vinegar, paprika, oregano, garlic and salt in a food processor or blender until it forms a paste.

Transfer the chicken to a glass or non-reactive dish. Pour the marinade over the chicken and flip it a few times so that the marinade coats the chicken well. Cover and refrigerate for 2 to 12 hours.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F, and let the chicken come to room temperature while the oven heats up. Remove the chicken from the marinade and place it skin-side-up on a rimmed baking sheet. Roast for about 1 hour until the juices run clear when a sharp knife is inserted into the meaty part of the thigh. Let it sit for about 15 minutes on a cutting board, then cut into pieces and serve hot.

If you are from the South in US, then you do not need grits explained to you. Slide right on down to the recipe.

If you need a little more edification (and if you arent familiar with grits, your world is about to be rocked), here we go.

Grits are ground dried corn. Traditionally, grits most often come from white corn. The whole shebang is similar to polenta, from the ground dried corn (usually yellow in the case of polenta) to how it is prepared. Purists in the grits or polenta camps would beg to differ.

Grits are usually a bit creamier in texture after being cooked, and appear on plates or in bowls at breakfast, lunch and dinner in the South.

There are different kinds of grits, which take different amounts of time to cook. I often use quick-cooking grits (or polenta) because in less than 10 minutes you can have your grits ready to serve. If you have a little more time, the texture of the longer-cooking varieties is a bit more interesting. Be sure to read package instructions, as cooking times vary widely. Also note that the amount of liquid each kind requires can vary.

For breakfast, grits are usually served in a sweet way, with maple syrup or brown sugar on top, and generous amounts of butter (basically whatever you use to top oatmeal is appropriate for grits). For lunch or dinner, they usually take a savory twist then they are more akin to rice or mashed potatoes in the way they round out a meal.

Here, they are enriched with some cream and cheese for an addictively fine base for quickly sauteed chicken breasts and a slightly creamy sauce. One little can of green chilies packs a nice amount of piquancy but not too much heat.

There are lots of ways to get acquainted with grits. Once you get to know them, be prepared for a deep, lifelong relationship.

Grits with Chicken and tomatillo Green chilli and sour cream and Green Chili and pan sauce Serves 4 Start to finish: 25 minutes

Place the milk and water in a saucepan with salt and pepper, and bring to a simmer over high heat. Reduce the heat to medium and slowly add the grits, stirring constantly. Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer, stirring frequently for about 8 minutes until the grits are smooth and creamy. Stir in the butter, heavy cream, and Parmesan until the butter is melted and the grits are hot and very creamy.

While the grits are simmering, season the chicken breasts with salt and pepper. In a large skillet, heat the olive oil over medium high heat. Add the chicken breasts and saute until done, about 4 to 5 minutes on each side. Remove the chicken breasts to a plate and set aside. Do not wipe out the skillet!

Add the garlic to the skillet and saute over medium heat for 1 minute, until it starts to color. Add the green chilis, turn the heat up to medium high, then add the broth and stir to scrape up all the little flavorful bits that may be stuck to the bottom of the skillet. Simmer for about 4 minutes until the mixture reduces slightly. Whisk in the sour cream until well combined and heat just until the mixture is hot, but dont allow it to come to a simmer.

Scoop some hot grits onto each of four individual plates. Place a chicken breast on each plate, on top of the grits, and pour the sauce over the chicken breasts. Serve hot.

Grilled fish is the official dish of summer around our house. There is nothing I love to eat more in warm weather Above: Grilled halibut with butter caper herb sauce in Bethesda, Md. Below: Homemade turkey breakfast sausage

in Bethesda, Md. (AP) than a piece of fresh seasonal fish cooked on the grill the slightly sweet flesh offset by a tiny bit of char.

You can use some fish from your freezer stash in a pinch, but ask at the fish counter what is seasonal and freshest, and you wont regret the few extra dollars youll pay. I used Alaskan halibut for todays recipe, but any firm whitefleshed fish will work great.

Halibut is mild, tender and sweet, and its a fantastic lean source of protein. A 4-ounce serving has 24 grams of protein, a little more than 2 grams of fat, and offers a nice showing of B vitamins and minerals, all for 120 calories.

My go-to strategy for grilling mild white fish is to keep it super simple on the actual grill, and then top it with a quick sauce made from a few ingredients. Pat the fish dry gently, and toss on the grill with just a little salt, pepper and olive oil.

Once the fish is cooked, I top it straight from the grill with the sauce. While the fish is cooking, whip up a sauce with a little acid (like lemon or venegar) aromatics (like minced garlic, shallot or green onion), herbs, and a tiny touch of fat (like olive oil or butter). Pouring it on while the fish is hot makes the simple flavour come alive like Hugh Jackman playing P.T. Barnum.

Grilled Halibut with Butter Caper Herb Sauce is an excellent starting point for mastering this easy fish-grilling blueprint that you’ll use both on weekends and busy weeknight meals. In under 20 minutes, you can have summer on the plate.

Grilled Halibut with Butter Caper Herb Sauce Servings. 6 Start to finish: 20 minutes.

1 3/4 pounds fresh Alaskan halibut fillet (or other firm whiteflesh fish), checked for bones; 1/2 lemon, for squeezing; 2 teaspoons olive oil; salt and pepper.

Sauce: 2 tablespoons butter; 1 clove garlic, minced; 2 tablespoons capers, plus a little of the liquid; 2 tablespoons lemon juice; Handful of chopped tender herbs, such as basil, parsley or cilantro

Heat a gas or charcoal grill to medium high. Scrub the grill grates with a wire brush or tongs and ball of foil to clean off burnt food debris, and lightly oil the grates. Squeeze a little lemon juice on the halibut and let it sit a few minutes before blotting it dry gently with a paper towel.

Season the fish with a little salt and pepper. Drizzle the olive oil over both sides of the fish, and use your fingers to coat the whole fillet lightly with oil. Once the grill is hot, place the fish flesh

Left: Grits with chicken and tomatillo green chilli and sour cream pan sauce in New York.

Right: Chicken Piri Piri in New York. (AP)

side down on the grill. Allow to cook about 5-6 minutes on the first side. Use a metal spatula to flip the fish to cook the second side, until cooked through but not dry, about 3-4 more minutes.

Meanwhile, heat the butter and garlic in a small sauce pan on the stove at medium heat until the garlic is aromatic, about 2 minutes. Add the capers with a little caper liquid and the lemon juice and whisk to combine. Remove from heat, stir the herbs into the sauce and then pour over the fish just as it comes off the grill. Serve.

Lazy weekend morning meals around the table, the entire family unhurried have yielded some of my favorite moments of connection and family identity. Even quick weekday breakfasts hold the promise of a new day, and fill my soul a tiny bit. Adding the unmistakable aroma of an herby breakfast sausage is the icing on the cake of breakfasts and brunches.

Making your own breakfast sausage patties is surprisingly quick, and just plain smart: you can adjust flavors according to your preferences, and control the quality of the ingredients. Each patty offers 8 grams of protein and 64 calories (and 3 grams of fat), so adding a patty or two to any breakfast gives a nice nutrient boost. And, it’s cheaper than buying sausage pre-made.

Try my recipe for Homemade Turkey Breakfast Sausage Patties for an easy take on a traditional breakfast sausage. Rosemary, sage and fennel seed work together to create that classic breakfast sausage taste, although if you find fennel too powerful, you can substitute thyme. The invisible hero of the dish is the onion pulp made cleverly from rubbing yellow onion along a microplane or fine grater - it adds needed onion flavor without actual pieces of onion to mess with the texture or overpower any one bite. A quick note about the maple syrup: This recipe is not “maple-flavored” - I add the tiniest bit of maple syrup that drives home the breakfast feel, taking the patty squarely from flavorful turkey burger territory into breakfast sausage. If you want to mimic the “maple sausage” versions you buy at the store, then you’ll definitely want to add a bit more syrup.

The recipe as written is my go-to, but know there are options to explore. Swap out flavorings, or increase (or omit) the red pepper flakes to adjust the heat. The patties can be pan-sauteed or oven baked. Most of my family preferred the crusty exterior of the sauteed version. However, two of my kids preferred the more tender texture of the oven-baked version. And if you are pulling from a frozen stash of uncooked patties for a weekday morning, then baking works best.

Homemade Turkey Sausage Breakfast Patties Servings: 12 patties Start to finish: 25 minutes

Mix all the ingredients in a medium bowl. Form into 12 compact patties. Spray a large nonstick saute pan with some olive oil from a mister (or use nonstick spray). Cook the patties in the pan over medium heat, until outside edges have nice deep golden crust and meat is cooked through, flipping once, about ten minutes total. (AP)