The Wonders of Cookbooks

Cooking Light Magazine recently featured an article on the best 100 cookbooks of all time.  They say it perfectly "Cooks love books for their ability to inspire, entertain, excite, soothe, teach - and for their beauty as physical objects.  The best are thrilling, whether they're eye-opening explorations of a single subject, seminal overviews, or beautiful obsessions." 

It’s true.  Cookbooks are wonderful, inspirational learning tools.  They are also beautiful.  I wanted to make one of my New Year's Resolutions to make one new dish a month.  It's definitely possible, but I never actually pledged to do this.  So now, I’m setting a goal to cook one new dish a month, choosing from a cookbook I already own, or one that someone lends to me (hello library!).  It will be challenging, but an exceptional learning opportunity.  Perhaps the creative juices will really start to flow and I'll do it more than once a month!

To start, I’m choosing a recipe from Better Homes and Gardens Grill It!  Secrets to Delicious Flame-Kissed Food.


Tequila-Marinated Chicken Thighs
Prep: 15 Minutes
Marinate: 4 Hours or Overnight
Grill: 50 Minutes
Makes: 6 Servings




12 Chicken thighs, skinned
1/2 cup orange juice
1/4 cup tequila
2 tablespoons lime juice
1 tablespoon finely chopped canned chipotle pepper in adobo sauce (I substituted for salsa verde)
1 teaspoon snipped fresh oregano
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper


Place chicken in a large resealable plastic bag, or a container.  For marinade, in a small bowl stir together orange juice, tequila, lime juice, chipotle pepper, oregano, garlic, salt and black pepper. Pour over chicken and seal bag or container.Turn to coat chicken.  Marinate in the refrigerate for 4 hours or overnight.


Drain chicken, reserving marinade.  For a charcoal grill, arrange medium-hot coals around a drip pan.  Test for medium heat above pan.  Place chicken, meaty sides down, on grill rack over pan.  Cover and grill for 50 to 60 minutes or until chicken is no longer pink, turning and brushing once with reserved marinade halfway through grilling.  For a gas grill, preheat grill.  Reduce heat to medium.  Adjust for indirect cooking.  Place chicken on grill rack over the burner that is off and grill as directed.  (I used a gas grill and grilled directly over the flame until chicken was cooked through.  This allowed for a much shorter cooking time.)


The chicken was delicious.  It had a crispy crunch on the outside, but still tender on the inside.  Delicious!