experiments

I ran out of bagels for lunch, so instead I toasted a piece of garlic naan, spread cream cheese (actually, Neufchatel, but who's counting) on top, sprinkled over capers, and topped that with lox (actually, gravlax from Ikea; I think the difference is that gravlax includes dill in the curing process?). Cut into quarters, it was sort of a cream-cheese-n-lox pizza. Tasty!

For dinner, I am going to experiment with adding smoke to my grilling repetoire when I make grilled chicken. I have never smoked anything in my life. Wish me luck!

EDIT: I am steeping lemon, garlic, and thyme (my favorite flavor combo for roast or grilled chicken) to make a brine for the chicken, and let me tell you, they are making the WHOLE HOUSE smell of garlic and lemon and thyme. It's like some kind of bizarre aromatherapy....

EDIT 2: Brining now. Brining never, ever fails to feel like magic to me, when applied to chicken parts. It's insurance against overcooking and incredibly effective seasoning, all in one! And it's not even hard!

Gas Grill-Smoked Lemon-Thyme Chicken

This is probably the best roast or grilled whole chicken I've ever made, and that was a first, experimental run. I can't wait to try it again and fine tune, but... delicious.

The boy approved, too. (In fact, we picked the chicken carcass totally clean. Like vultures. Vultures who appreciate fruitwood smoke.)

This recipe has no quantities, because I was experimenting and did not keep track. It does have the method, though. (In brief: chicken brined in a flavorful brine, basted in a lemon-olive-oil-shallot sauce, then slowly grilled with soaked wood chips for smoke.)

The method is largely copped from Cooks Illustrated.

( Gas Grill-Smoked Lemon-Thyme Chicken )