New Years Bubbly!

 What is the best way to kick off the new years? With a special glass of Champagne! It really has become a tradition for most people, Champagne, food, friends, loved ones, all synonymous with ringing in the New Year. Rather than settling for your average glass of Champagne, why not make it extra special this year by just adding a couple ingredients to make a not so expensive glass of Champagne taste like you just ordered it at a 5 star restaurant! Pomegranate is a unique, slightly tart and sweet flavor that you wouldn’t normally gravitate to but it works amazing in this drink.

 I love to pair drinks with food and I also know that Champagne can be difficult to pair with food. Personally, I would stick with something simple and not too complex. First, we all know we don’t want to have bad breath before that mid-night kiss, so I would suggest putting out some fruit such as, raspberries, strawberries, pineapple, etc. Also, if you choose Chocolate, choose white chocolate. White chocolate is creamier, sweeter, and less complex than other kinds of chocolate, it makes a far better match with Champagne and wine.

Well, there you have it! I hope you all have an amazing New Years!!

 

 Pomegranate Champagne

 

Ingredients:

6 tbsp Pomegranate syrup

1 bottle brute Champagne

6 lemon twists

 

Directions:

Place one teaspoon of syrup at the bottom of each champagne flute or glass. Gently pour in champagne and garnish with a lemon twist Pomegranate syrup can be found in the international food section of your supermarket or at a local Middle Eastern foods market.

Serves 6 

No bake - Peace of cake!

 I LOVE desserts! And I also love baking, but when I am cooking a big meal in a little kitchen with limited oven space, it makes dessert difficult to fit in to your dinner plans. I could just go to the grocery store and buy a dessert, but where is the fun in that!

I have emphasized in previous entries that I LOVE the holidays and I am always looking to create delicious and easy recipes to bring to your friends holiday parties. When you want to be with family and friends, you don’t want to be slaving away in the kitchen. With minimal ingredients and no baking, this recipe is perfect! This is also a really fun recipe to make with kids, or to let them do themselves! Just set out all the ingredients on the kitchen table with a mixer and give them direction. It’s that easy and pretty fool proof. Plus, it’s much safer than having them running around you in the kitchen with the hot oven and stove.

In addition, for all my anti-sugar friends out there, you can replace the sugar with splenda or a sugar substitute. You could use a reduced fat cream cheese as well, but I really do think that it compromises the flavor and texture of the cheesecake. So I would stick with the regular cream cheese, it will make for a creamier, more decedent finished product.

 

 No Bake Pumpkin Cheesecake

Ingredients

1 pkg. (8 oz.) Cream Cheese, softened 


1 cup canned pumpkin 


1/2-cup sugar 


1/2 tsp. pumpkin pie spice


1 tub (8 oz.) Cool Whip Whipped Topping, thawed, divided 


1 Graham Pie Crust (6 oz.) 


Directions 


Beat cream cheese, pumpkin, sugar and pumpkin pie spice with electric mixer on medium speed until well blended. Gently fold in 2-1/2 cups of the whipped topping. Cover and refrigerate remaining whipped topping for later use.

Spoon cream cheese mixture into crust.

Refrigerate 3 hours or overnight. Serve topped with remaining whipped topping. Store leftover cheesecake in refrigerator

Wholesome and Healthy for the Holidays

So Thanksgiving is over, but more holidays are right around the corner! And if you are like me, its not just Christmas dinner you have to worry about, there are many different dinners and parties through the month of December with friends and family. Perfect! That gives you an opportunity to try out delicious new recipes on your friends!

To me, there are a few factors that make a dish great, and I think my Roasted Butternut Squash soup fits pretty much all of them. Its affordable, fresh, minimal ingredients, healthy, and delicious!! Now I could go buy Butternut squash at the store, but if you look at the ingredients on the back, there are words I can’t even pronounce! That’s usually not a good sign. Lol. Not to mention store bought soups contain WAY more calories than MY soup. I don’t understand why people always think that soups are so difficult to make from scratch! And why people always think I’m such a culinary genius for making them!!?? (Even though I am.. lol, jk) They can really be easy if you find the right recipes.

All in all, this is a great soup for the wintertime. Whether for lunch, as an appetizer or dinner, this Butternut squash soup will have everyone coming back for seconds, so you may want to think about doubling this recipe! 

 

 

 

Roasted Butternut Squash soup

 

 

Ingredients

 

1 (2-3 lb) Butternut squash, seeded and chopped into 2 inch pieces

1 medium onion, large rough chop

6 cups vegetable or chicken stock (reduced sodium)

3 tbsp extra virgin Olive Oil

1/3 tsp Nutmeg

Salt and pepper

 

 

Directions

 

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

On a large sheet pan, arrange squash and onion evenly, drizzle olive oil over top along with a heavy pinch or salt and pepper, making sure everything has been seasoned.

Roast for about 40 minutes until the squashes edges turn golden brown. Remove and let cool slightly.

Pour squash mixture into a large pot over medium-high heat, add stock and bring to a boil. Reduce to heat to medium-low and allow to simmer for 10 minutes.

Take off heat, and using an emulation blender in the pot, blend ingredients until smooth. (You can use any sort or processor or blender you like) stir in Nutmeg, and season with salt and pepper to taste.

 

Holiday Indulgence

The Holidays are all about indulgence. Many delicious dishes come to mind including one of my favorite indulgent desserts, Pecan pie! In my family growing up we always cooked all the main course dishes and got store bought pies and cakes for dessert. It wasn’t until I really became interested cooking that I wanted to figure out how to bake, and what was so difficult about it? In my cooking I tend to not use exact measurements, but with baking you typically have to or else your finished product will not turn out the way you want it.

Unlike cake and other baked goods, pecan pie is one of my favorites because the measurements don’t have to be exact, and its pretty fool proof, just how I like it!  Buying a store bought crust for your pie cuts your prep time in half, and the filling is made over the stove, so it’s a lot like cooking.

There is something that is just so rewarding about baking your own desserts for the holidays, and this one is so delicious and fun to make with the family!

 

 

 

Chocolate pecan pie

 

Ingredients

 2 pie crusts, store bought already in baking dish.

 Filling:

5 tbsp unsalted butter

1 cup packed light brown sugar

3/4-cup light corn syrup 

1/2 tsp salt

2 cups chopped toasted pecans

1 to 2 tbsp bourbon 

2 tsp vanilla extract

3 eggs, lightly beaten

½ cup Dark chocolate chips

 

 

 

Directions

Set separate racks in the center and lower third of oven and preheat to 400 degrees. Put a piece of parchment paper or foil over the pie shell and fill with dried beans or pie weights. Bake on a baking sheet on the center rack until the dough is set, about 20 minutes. Remove from the oven and lift sides of the parchment paper to remove the beans. Continue baking until the pie shell is lightly golden brown, about 10 more minutes. Reduce the oven temperature to 350 degrees F.

While the crust is baking make the filling: In medium saucepan, combine the butter, brown sugar, corn syrup, and salt. Bring to a boil over medium heat, and stirring constantly, continue to boil for 1 minute. Remove from the heat and stir in the nuts, bourbon, and the vanilla. Set the mixture aside to cool slightly, about 5 minutes.  Whisk the beaten eggs into the filling until smooth. Put the pie shell on a sheet pan and pour the filling into the hot crust, sprinkle chocolate chips over top of filling.

Bake on the lower oven rack until the edges are set but the center is still slightly loose, about 40 to 45 minutes. (If the edges get very dark, cover them with aluminum foil half way during baking.) Cool on a rack. Serve slightly warm or room temperature.

Steaming 101

Fish recipes can often be tricky for some people. Unless you are familiar with how to cook different types of fish and what pairs well with them, it’s hard to find recipes that will always turn out delicious no matter what. An “En Papillote” fish dish lets you make a delicious French style dinner quick and easy. "En Papillote" simply means that the fish is wrapped in parchment paper before you cook it. This is an awesome way to cook fish and vegetables simultaneously and the fish comes out tender and delicious every time. The paper seals in all the flavor and aroma, which is why this cooking method is so popular. For an outdoor grilling day, you can also replace the parchment paper for foil.

I use this cooking method with fish ALL the time. It is one of my favorite ways of steaming which I learned in culinary school. Usually the foods that taste the best are also the easiest to make with minimal ingredients. So that makes this dish pretty cost efficient as well!

In addition to the fish, you can add pretty much any vegetables you like. You might like to add some diced tomatoes, sliced carrots, peppers, capers, lemon juice, or lime juice to the package, as well as the butter or oil and the seasonings. Halibut, tilapia, salmon, and red snapper are all suitable fish for cooking En Papillote because this cooking method works best with firm, meaty fish.

 

Halibut En Papillote

 

Ingredients:

 

2 tablespoons butter

2 cloves garlic, finely minced

4 (6 ounce) Halibut fillets

Salt and pepper to taste

1 lemon, thinly sliced

½ lb grape tomatoes, sliced in half

2 heads bok Choy, leaves removed

½ cup dry white wine

2 tablespoons olive oil

 

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Cut four large rectangles of parchment paper and fold in half; unfold. (about 25 inches)

Drizzle a tiny bit of olive oil in the center of one of the parchment paper folds, place fish filets over oil so not to stick when baking.  Dab a bit of butter over top of the fish and season with salt and pepper.  Place about 2 lemon slices over seasoned fish. Divide garlic tomatoes and Bok Choy evenly over fish.

Fold top half of parchment paper over fish and crimp to seal; place on two baking sheets. Once everything is in place, open paper a tiny bit and evenly distribute wine into all of the paper pouches, re-cover.

Bake at 400 degrees F for 12-16 minutes, switching baking sheets halfway through cooking time, until fish flakes easily when tested with fork. Serve immediately.

Flavor of Fall

Well, it's fall and that means holiday meals to come, my favorite time of the year!  The flavors of fall and winter are inherently warm flavors that make us feel cozy in the cold. Apples, pumpkin, cranberries, squash, and cinnamon are a few of foods synonymous with this time of the year. More forgotten than not when it comes to fall and winter meals, is breakfast, and it’s the most important meal of the day! Now this recipe isn’t the healthiest type of breakfast, but ya know, it's not bikini season right now people so chill out! If you wanted, you could substitute the sugar with Splenda or Agave nectar, and the flour with whole-wheat flour to make it a little more figure friendly. But really, in my opinion it’s all about portion control and you can eat whatever you want.

This is a great recipe to get the kids and the family involved in the baking process on a cold and snowy day. Great paired with a cup of Joe, or just as a mid-day snack, your family and friends are sure to love these creamy, moist, pumpkin cream cheese muffins!

 

 

Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffins

 

Ingredients

1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese

1 egg

1 tsp vanilla extract

3 tbsp brown sugar

 

4 1/2 tbsp all-purpose flour

5 tbsp white sugar

3/4 tsp cinnamon

3 tbsp butter

3 tbsp chopped pecans

 

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

2 cups white sugar

2 tsp baking powder

2 tsp ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp salt

2 eggs

1 1/3 cups canned pumpkin

1/3 cup canola oil

2 tsp vanilla extract

 

Directions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Grease and flour 18 muffin cups, or use paper liners.

To make the filling: In a medium bowl, beat cream cheese until soft. Add egg, vanilla and brown sugar. Beat until smooth, and then set aside.

For the streusel topping: In a medium bowl, mix flour, sugar, cinnamon and pecans. Add butter and cut it in with a fork until crumbly. Set aside.

For the muffin batter: In a large bowl, sift together flour, sugar, baking powder, cinnamon and salt. Make a well in the center of flour mixture and add eggs, pumpkin, canola oil and vanilla. Beat together until smooth.

Place pumpkin mixture in muffin cups about 1/2 full. Then add one tablespoon of the cream cheese mixture right in the middle of the batter. Try to keep cream cheese from touching the paper cup. Sprinkle on the streusel topping.

Bake at 375 degrees for 20 to 25 minutes

Funny Food

This is one of those feel good, comforting dishes that I love to make for my guests, and when I am catering. It’s easy to make ahead, the ingredients are mostly items that you would find in your refrigerator anyways, so it makes it pretty cost efficient and it will totally impress whomever you are serving it to.

I originally came up with this dish a couple years ago for comedian/actor Garret Morris. Garret Morris is one of the original cast members of “Saturday Night Live” and continues making people laugh with appearances in many different commercials and TV shows. He lived in my former apartment building so I would always see him around. Currently I was filming for my show “Dishing With Celebs” and invited him to come on and share his favorite foods and recipes with me. He told me he knew nothing about cooking, but he loved shrimp and Louisiana cooking so he would leave it up to me.

Now, I’m no expert on Louisiana style cooking, but after trying out a few different recipes of my own I decided on this one, and he agreed that it reminded him of home. Garret and I ate these by themselves, but you can serve them as appetizers, over a salad, over grits, and pretty much anything! So I hope you enjoy them!

 

Stuffed Shrimp Wrapped in Prosciutto

 

2 cans crab meat (drained)

1-cup Italian breadcrumbs

1/3-cup mayonnaise

1/4-cup ketchup

2 tbsp prepared mustard

2 tsp Worcestershire sauce

10 jumbo shrimp, peeled and de-veined

10 slices prosciutto

Directions

Combine first six ingredients; mix well and set aside.

Butterfly shrimp with a knife. Stuff shrimp with about 2 tablespoons of crab filling.

 Wrap entire shrimp with sliced prosciutto.

 Place bundles in a 13x9x2 baking dish.

 Bake, uncovered, at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. (Any extra crab stuffing may be spooned into a greased 1/2 quart casserole and baked at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.) Serves 5.

Salty, Sweet, Tangy, Creamy Goodness!!

This bacon wrap is one of my favorite appetizers. I’ve used it for years in my catering because it is so versatile and easy. I’m not really sure where I got the idea, but it encompasses every taste I would want into one small bite. Salty, sweet, tangy, creamy goodness! Mostly everyone who I offer it to has never had anything like it before and they always come back for seconds.

I always know when I have a winner recipe when other Chefs/cooks use them. I recently catered my friends birthday party with Jamie Spears (Brittany Spears’ dad) and he told me since the last time I cooked with him last summer he has made these Bacon Wrapped dates at all of his family gatherings and catering jobs and people just love them. So needless to say, it’s pretty cool to think that Brittany has tried and liked them. lol.

Much like raisins or dried Pineapple, a Date is the fruit of a “Date Palm tree” which has gone through a drying process and can be used for a number of purposes. I love snacking on them plain, just remember to take out the seed in the middle!

Sometimes with this recipe I leave the blue cheese out, but I’ll leave that up to your preference. I just like the contrast of all the different flavors going on, so let me know how you like it!!!

 

Bacon Wrapped Blue Cheese Dates

Ingredients

1 pound sliced bacon, cut in half

1 pound pitted dates

4 ounces blue cheese

 

Directions

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees

Slice dates in half, and open them up. Pinch off pieces of blue cheese, and place them into the center of the dates. Close the halves of the dates, and wrap a half-slice of bacon around the outside. Secure each one with a toothpick. Arrange in a baking dish or on a baking sheet with sides to catch any grease. Bake for 30 to 40 minutes in the preheated oven, or until the bacon is crisp. Turn dates over after the first 20 minutes for even cooking.

The "Other" Sandwich

I’m always trying to think of new and creative ideas for h’orderves and appetizers. Most of the time people just end up buying some frozen puff pastry style appetizers or just putting out some store bought chips and salsa. I always like turning something that has already been done into something completely different. For example, this h’orderve emulates that of a cheese sandwich, but instead of bread I use potatoes, and instead of a cows milk cheese I use a goats milk cheese. (Which my Lactose intolerant friends love) The only time consuming part of this dish is the boiling of the potatoes. And the rest you can handle pretty easily. If you do not like sour cream or lemon, of course you could substitute with another creamy sauce of your liking, but for me, that tart bite of the lemon cuts through the creamy goat cheese with that little crunch of the peppery Arugula, taking the appetizer “sandwich” to a whole new level!

 

 

 

 

Potato and Goat cheese appetizer  

 

6 yellow Potatoes

4-5 oz goat cheese

1 bunch arugula

4 oz sour cream

1 tbsp lemon juice

Salt and pepper

 

 

Boil potatoes in a large pot of water until fork tender, about 30 minutes. Be careful to not over cook so potatoes so they will keep there form when cut. Let potatoes cool. Cut potatoes width wise 1 ½ inch think. Season each side with salt and pepper.

In a bowl, mix sour cream, lemon juice and a pinch of salt and pepper. Set aside.

To assemble, crumble a piece of goat cheese on top of 1 slice of potato. Place a couple arugula leaves over top of goat cheese, and then place another slice of potato over arugula. Drizzle lemon sour cream over top, and then place a toothpick into the middle to keep the form of the h’orderve. Repeat until ingredients have been all used.

 

Fresh and Easy!

When you think of grilling, it’s rare that you think of dessert. Especially when it is considered fresh and healthy. I first created this recipe for my show Bikini bbq, (www.bikinibbqs.com) and since have used it many times at daytime bqq’s and everyone has loved it.  Everyone loves dessert, but during the summer, I like something that is light and easy to make. What I like about this recipe is that you can use the ingredients to your discretion, and its very hard to mess up. So I hope you enjoy this simple and healthy classic of mine that will definitely impress your guests!

 

 Sweet peaches with honey walnut sauce

 

Ingredients

4 peaches, halved and cored

2 tbsp. sugar

1-cup yogurt

1/2 cup toasted walnuts

1/2 tsp. cinnamon

1/2 tsp. orange zest

3 tbsp. honey

 

 

Directions

1) Preheat grill.

2) Sprinkle a thin layer of sugar over the peaches, shaking off the excess.

3) Grill peaches until they’re slightly soft.

4) In a bowl, mix together yogurt, walnuts, cinnamon, orange zest and honey.

5) Place peaches grill side up and serve yogurt mixture over top.

Back to Basics!

 

 

Today I am going back to basics! Sometimes we just try to use all store bought ingredients so we can save time on making a meal, but we often forget that it can be so much more delicious and just as easy to make those store bought ingredients yourself.

I was inspired last night by going to meet some friends at Mr. Chow in Beverly Hills. Mr. Chow’s is one of the most famous restaurants in LA! Anyone whose anyone goes there, well accept for me. LOL! Out of my 6 years of living in Los Angeles, never have I been to the celebrity hot spot. Now my life is finally complete. Mr. Chow’s definitely lived up to its hype when I tasted the hand-made, velvety thin Chinese noodles.

So needless to say it got me thinking. Why don’t I make my own pasta more often? Its pretty easy, not very time consuming and it is taste stands out as the center of any dish. I’m going to give you a little bit of culinary school basics. With this very basic pasta recipe, I have included a béchamel sauce, also known as “white sauce” which is one of the “mother sauces” of French cuisine, and is used in many recipes in French and Italian cuisine. With combining the two recipes of pasta and sauce, your result is simple yet complex in flavor and will impress anyone who you serve it to!

 

 

Basic Pasta Dough

 

Ingredients

4 eggs

3 1/2 c. flour

Salt

 

Directions

Beat eggs. Add flour and salt and knead for 15 minutes. If you do not have a pasta machine, then roll out dough flat. Take the dough and roll it up like a jellyroll. Slice thin and unwrap it. It will make long strips of pasta.  OR you can use a pasta maker from a kitchen aid mixer to roll out dough faster.

Boil water with a heavy pinch of salt. Add pasta for about 5 minutes until cooked through. (fresh pasta takes a shorter amount of time to cook than pre-made pasta)

 

 

Basic Béchamel Sauce

 

Ingredients

5 tablespoons butter

4 tablespoons all-purpose flour

4 cups milk

2 teaspoons salt

1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

 

Directions

In a medium saucepan, heat the butter over medium-low heat until melted. Add the flour and stir until smooth. Over medium heat, cook until the mixture turns a light, golden sandy color, about 6 to 7 minutes. Meanwhile, heat the milk in a separate pan until just about to boil. Add the hot milk to the butter mixture 1 cup at a time, whisking continuously until very smooth. Bring to a boil. Cook 10 minutes, stirring constantly, then remove from heat. Season with salt and nutmeg, and set aside until ready to use.

Red Wine Dessert

 

There are only a few times when I choose red wine over white wine. Even though red wine is much better for you, I usually go for the white because I feel like its tastes better when you are drinking it by itself. I try to find other ways to use red wine in my recipes so if I’m drinking a glass of red wine it will compliment my dish.

Studies show that 1-2 glasses of red wine a day lowers risk of heart attack for people up to 50 percent!! Red wine also has shown to help prevent blood clots and reduce the blood vessel damage caused by fat deposits. Plus it is rich source of antioxidants, which of course, is good for everything!

This decadent and rich dessert I have come up with can also be called healthy. A reduction of dry red wine paired with a floral, sweet honey and pouched fresh figs is paired beautifully with the same wine you cooked with. For the wine I would suggest the dry red, such as a Chianti. It is less sweet so that it doesn’t over power the honey.

 

 

POACHED FIGS IN RED WINE AND HONEY

SAUCE

 

Ingredients

1 cup dry, red wine, such as Chianti

1-1/2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1/4 cup honey

2 cinnamon sticks

8 fresh figs

4 1oz pieces of dark chocolate (opt.)

 

Directions

Pour wine into a heavy saucepan. Dissolve flour in wine, off the heat, until fully dissolved. Transfer saucepan to stove top and cook over a medium flame.

Add honey (honey that has been warmed to a syrup-like consistency) and cinnamon sticks, and cook, until reduced by about half, approximately 8 minutes.

Reduce flame to low, and add figs so that they are standing up straight. let figs poach for about 10 minutes. 

to plate, place fig on a plate, drizzle with red wine sauce and sprinkle with chocolate pieces. ENJOY!

Blue cheese... Yes Please!!

Blue cheese is a cheese that people either love or hate. I happen to LOVE it and I use it in many of my dishes! I find that blue cheese adds elegance to most dishes, which I have done to simple zucchini in this dish.

Blue cheese can be either made from cow’s milk, sheep’s milk or goat’s milk. All blue cheese is made the same, a timely process of aging in controlled temperature caves and injected with Penicillium cultures for that blue-green veined finish result.  In this dish I am using Gorgonzola; an Italian veined blue cheese. It adds a burst of flavor in a smooth, salty bite.

When I’m catering or doing personal chef work I love to make this dish because I can make it early on so I can focus my attention on my main dish and my guests.

 

Gorgonzola zucchini Gratin

6 medium sized zucchini, chopped ½ inch think

½ onion, chopped

3 cloves garlic, chopped

2 tomatoes, chopped

EVOO

1 cup Gorgonzola cheese

2 eggs

1-cup milk

 

In a large shallow pan sauté onion and garlic on medium-high heat in 1-2 tbsp of EVOO until opaque. Add zucchini and tomato, and a good pinch of salt and pepper. Cook until zucchini is almost cooked through. (About 8 minutes) turn off heat and mix in ¾ cheese until creamy. Pour into an oven save dish.

In a bowl, whisk together eggs, milk, salt and pepper. Pour milk mixture over zucchini and top with remainder of cheese.

Bake in a 350-degree oven for 25 minutes until cheese is melted and golden brown.

 

Tequila! Tequila!!

TEQUILA!  It’s something that screams “Lets party!” I have been a big fan of Tequila, especially in the nightlife. But I feel that out of all the recipes I’ve made with Alcohol few have included Tequila. After doing a little research on it and researching the different types and flavors I’m wondering why I don’t use it in more in my cooking?? From sauces to marinades Tequila is great for adding that kick your dish may need.

I always wondered why Tequila is known as a “Mexican” liquor? It’s because Tequila is made by fermenting juice of Agave plants in Mexico. Traditionally by Mexican standards, Tequila must be distilled in pot stills to 110 proof for hours and can be repeated a number of times to ensure its clarity and pureness. Color in Tequila comes mostly from the addition of caramel; also some distillers add small amounts of natural flavorings such as Sherry, prune concentrate, and coconut to manipulate the tequila’s flavor.  These flavors can be used in a number of dishes depending on the dish. I would recommend doing a little research on the type of Tequila to see how it matches with the dish you want to use it in, or if you don’t have the time just go for a good quality clear or gold agave tequila like I did!

I’m always looking for new and inventive ways to make chicken Exciting and I think that Tequila is a great crowd pleaser for any party, in a recipe or just to drink!

 

Tequila Lime Chicken

Ingredients

1/2 cup gold tequila

1 cup freshly squeezed lime juice

1/2 cup freshly squeezed orange juice

1 tbsp chili powder

1 tbsp minced fresh jalapeno pepper (seeded)

1 tbsp minced fresh garlic (3 cloves)

Salt and pepper

6 boneless chicken breasts, skin on

 

 

Directions

Combine the tequila, lime juice, orange juice, chili powder, jalapeno pepper, garlic, salt, and pepper in a large bowl. Add the chicken breasts. Refrigerate overnight.

Heat a grill and brush the rack with oil to prevent the chicken from sticking. Remove the chicken breasts from the marinade, sprinkle well with salt and pepper, and grill them skin-side down for about 5 minutes, until nicely browned. Turn the chicken and cook for another 10 minutes, until just cooked through. Remove from the grill to a plate. Cover tightly and allow to rest for 5 minutes before serving.