Cooking for Dinner Club

It was my turn to cook for dinner club this week. I initially wanted to cook grilled barbecue chicken, but eventually decided on the honey mustard grilled chicken. The recipe came from Allrecipes.com and had an excellent rating. I also knew I wanted to cook Paula Deen's Corn Casserole after enjoying some at a friend's cookout. In the beginning I wanted to serve asparagus, but decided to go with something a little more casual than asparagus. I decided on green beans and while searching for green bean recipes, I found Paula Deen's recipe for Honey Balsamic Green Beans.

Honey Mustard Grilled Chicken
1/3 c. Dijon mustard
1/4 c. honey
2 Tbsp. mayonnaise
1 tsp. steak sauce (I used A-1 steak sauce.)
4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves

Mix the mustard, honey, mayonnaise, and steak sauce. Set aside a small amount for basting while grilling. Dip the chicken in the remaining sauce to coat.

Preheat the grill for medium heat. Lightly oil the grill grate. Grill chicken over indirect heat for 18-20 minutes, turning occasionally, or until juices run clear. Baste occasionally with the reserved sauce during the last 10 minutes of cooking. Watch carefully to prevent burning.

I cooked nine chicken breasts, so I doubled the honey mustard sauce. I put the chicken in a dish, poured the sauce over it, and marinated the chicken for about eight hours in the fridge. I made one additional recipe of the honey mustard sauce for dipping. I also used a little of the third batch to brush on the chicken while I cooked it.

Since I don't eat chicken, I have no idea how it tasted, but everyone raved about the chicken. I did taste the sauce and it was good. Pete and Annabelle got some leftovers from someone's plate and they, too, approved. I was very pleased that the chicken was edible since it was my first time ever grilling chicken. Unfortunately, I don't have any pictures of the chicken, but it looked good.


Paula Deen's Corn Casserole
1 15.25 oz. can whole kernel corn, drained
1 14.75 oz. can creamed corn
1 8 oz. pkg. corn muffin mix (Jiffy is recommended.)
1 c. sour cream
1/2 c. (1 stick) butter, melted
1 - 1 1/2 c. shredded cheddar cheese

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a large bowl, stir together the two cans of corn, the corn muffin mix, sour cream, and melted butter. Pour into a greased 9x13 casserole dish. Bake for 45 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from oven and top with cheddar cheese. Bake for an additional 5-10 minutes or until cheese is melted. Let stand for at least 5 minutes and then serve warm.

I had to cook mine for an additional 10 minutes. This could have been due to the double recipe or the depth of the dish.

Before going into the oven:

Immediately out of the oven (topped with cheese):

I made a double recipe of the corn casserole. The recipe says it will serve six to eight people and since eight people would be eating, I erred on the side of caution. This was good because the corn casserole is delicious and several people had seconds. We consumed one full dish and about half of the second.

Paula Deen's Honey Balsamic Green Beans
16 oz. green beans
1 Tbsp. olive oil
1 clove garlic, minced (I used the refrigerated chopped garlic in a jar.)
1 tsp. honey
1 tsp. onion powder
salt and freshly cracked black pepper (I used regular black pepper.)

Bring a large pot of water to a boil over medium heat. Add the beans and blanch for 2 minutes. Immediately remove the beans from the water and add them to an ice bath to stop the cooking process. Drain.

In a large saucepan, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the garlic and green beans. Cover, and cook for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Uncover, then stir in the vinegar, honey, onion powder, and salt and pepper to taste. Cook to desired degree of doneness, about 4 to 6 minutes.

I also doubled this recipe since it said it would serve four to six people. The finished product wasn't all that beautiful, but it was definitely appealing. The balsamic vinegar added a nice tang to the meal.

Unfortunately, this is the only photo I have of the beans. Flattering, I know. The kitchen was hot.


Margaritas

ice cubes

3 oz. tequila (I used Jose Cuervo.)

2 oz. freshly squeezed lime juice (I used bottled lime juice since I don't have a juicer.)

1 oz. simple syrup (recipe below)

1/2 to 1 tsp. orange liqueur (I used Grand Marnier.)

1 Tbsp. lime-salt-sugar (recipe below)

Fill cocktail shaker with ice. Add tequila, lime juice, and simple syrup. Cover and shake until mixed and chilled, about 30 seconds. Coat rim of glass with lime-salt-sugar (several comments suggested only coating about half of the rim). Strain margarita into glass.

I just realized the recipe never indicates when to add the orange liqueur. I guess it could be added when the tequila is added?

Simple Syrup

1 c. sugar

1 c. water

Place sugar and water in a small saucepan. Cook over low heat, stirring, until sugar dissolves. Store in a sealed container in the refrigerator for up to one month.

I just poured the sugar into the water.

It's getting there:

Almost done:

The finished product. I made this the day before so it would have time to get cold.

Lime-Salt-Sugar

zest of one lime

2 Tbsp. kosher salt

2 Tbsp. sugar

Blend together lime, salt, and sugar in a blender or mini food chopper.

This glass rimming mixture was very tasty. I agree that the glass only needed to be partially coated.

I need to point out that the margaritas are fairly strong. I decided to mix everything together a few hours before dinner so that all people would have to do is rim the glass with the lime-salt-sugar, pour the beverage into the glass, and enjoy. I felt like I was adding a lot of tequila, but I followed the recipe. After downing more than one of these (in my defense, I was using a very small glass), I realized how potent they were. They were good, but very strong. Just a warning.