Grilled chicken

I love grilled chicken. It just tastes so different from either fried or roasted chicken.

I marinate the chicken for a couple of hours in my own special dressing, and then I have a grill pan (with the ridges) and that's what I used to "grill" my chicken.

My special dressing is something that has evolved (a proper use for that word, having nothing to do with any changes in my body which has devolved over the past 66 years) over several years. I have gone from wine vinegar to raspberry vinegar and now I'm using balsamic vinegar for the base.

Here goes:

In a bowl mix:

1/2 cup olive oil (EVOO)
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1/4 cup lemon juice (fresh squeezed, NOT the stuff that comes from a bottle)
1 Tablespoon garlic salt
1 Tablespoon Lowry's seasoned salt
1 teaspoon Emeril's Italian seasoning
1 teaspoon salad seasoning

This will be thick. I take two boneless, skinless chicken breasts (halves) and put this dressing and the chicken into a plastic bag and put it in the fridge for about two hours.

You don't need to use any oil in the pan because there is enough oil covering the chicken from the marinade so that the chicken won't stick.

Turn the heat on high under the pan. When the pan is hot (put a drop of water in it and it sizzles) pull the breasts from the bag, do not wipe off any of the marinade that sticks to the breast, and place in the grill pan (a regular pan will work, but you won't get the same "effect" as you get with a grill pan) and cook the first side for 3 minutes, turn down the heat to low, and cook the other side for 5 minutes. If you have a gas range, do not turn down the heat. The electric stove retains enough heat for this to work well -- the turning down of the heat for side two.

I do wish I had a gas stove. I used to have a gas stove. I had one for 30 years and then had to learn to cook all over again, almost. But I have to say that a flat top stove is wonderful for keeping clean and shiny. I always hated taking apart the gas stove to clean it above and underneath. And I'd no sooner get the stove all clean and shiny and then something would boil over, just waiting for the next cleaning date.

To my niece who hates broccoli -- it's a good side with this cooking of the chicken, and I learned today that broccoli is great for burning off fat from your body. I'm not sure that's true, but maybe I'm not eating enough broccoli for it to work as a fat burner for my body type -- which is fat!

ttfn