Balsamic Dijon Chicken Marinade

Now that the days are getting longer, it is the perfect time to have a couple of friends over for a barbecue.  Tonight we had a great time with some friends and their kids.  I hope we can have many more nights like tonight this summer.  The kids were great, the company was great and the food turned out well.
I wanted a simple marinade to use on some chicken that would work well with grilled vegetables.  After looking at a couple of recipes I borrowed a couple of ideas and came up with a hybrid of a few. I marinated the chicken overnight and the flavours turned out wonderful.

2 chicken breasts
2 tbsp Olive Oil
2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
1 tbsp dijon mustard
1/4 tsp dried thyme
1/8 tsp ground black pepper

Raspberry Montreal Marinade

I know it may be a little early for some people to think of barbecuing but in our house it is more of a year round thing.  I love being able to cook meats easily with not much fuss for clean up.
This great tasting marinade makes a big batch so you can keep it in the fridge or freeze it in smaller portions for later use.  You can use a home made steak spice mix or go for the easier store bought variety.  It goes well with many different types of meats and taste nice on potatoes too.

Raspberry Montreal Marinade

2 cups olive oil

1/2 Montreal steak spice

1/3 cup honey mustard

1/3 cup raspberry vinegar

1. Whisk the ingredients together.
2. Marinate the meat for at least two hours before grilling.

Sweet and Spicy Brine

I have brined turkeys before but this was the first time I had tried brining chicken.  It is a simple way to add extra flavour to meat in a relatively short amount of time.  I like that when you go to grill the meat that it doesn't go and leave a sticky mess to scrub off afterwards.

Sweet and Spicy Brined Chicken

4 boneless skinless chicken breasts (pork will work as well)

1/4 cup coarse salt

1/4 cup dark brown sugar

12 whole black pepper corns

1 chili pepper thinly sliced (leave the seeds in if you want a spicier brine)

2 whole bay leaves

1 cup hot water

3 cups cold water

1 lemon, thinly sliced

1 onion, thinly sliced

2 cloves garlic, crushed

1. Place the salt, brown sugar, pepper corns, chill and bay leaves in a bowl and add the hot water.  Whisk together until the salt and sugar have dissolved; add the cold water and allow to sit to reach room temperature.
2. Rinse the chicken under cold water and pat dry. In a non-reactive baking dish arrange the meat so it lays flat.
3. Arrange the garlic, onion and lemon slices over the meat.
4. Pour the brine over the meat. Cover the dish with plastic wrap and keep it in the refrigerator for 2 hours, turning the meat once or twice.
5. Preheat the barbecue and when you are ready to cook brush the grill with some oil.
6. Cook the chicken on the grill, about 5-7 minutes a side.

Saucy Steak Marinade

This is a great marinade to put together in the morning an add your steaks to before heading out for the day.  By the time you are home ready to make dinner it has nicely seasoned the meat.

Saucy Steak Marinade

1/3 cup low sodium soy sauce

1/2 olive oil

1/3 cup fresh lemon juice

1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce

1 1/4 tbsp garlic powder

2 tbsp basil

1 1/2 tbsp parsley flakes

1/4 tsp hot sauce

2 cloves minced garlic

1. Thoroughly mix the ingredients together in a jar or blender.
2. Pour the marinade over the meat and refrigerate for up to 8 hours.  Cook your steak as desired.

Hoisin-Glazed Eggplant

When I saw this recipe I couldn't wait to make it.  I don't think I would have every thought to combine hoisin and eggplant on my own but once I saw it, I could imagine how well these flavours would combine!  I also liked that it was a simple, straight forward recipe that didn't take much prep work or time to cook.  Once they were done we were quick to enjoy them and there is a bit of a disagreement over who gets to have the leftovers tomorrow.
Next time I do this I think I may try it with some other vegetables, like zucchini, peppers and mushrooms.  I will try to remember to let you know how those turn out.

Hoisin-Glazed Eggplant

1/4 hoisin sauce

2 tbsp olive oil

1 large eggplant (cut into 1inch slices lenghth wise)

1. Heat up the BBQ or a grill to medium heat.
2. Whisk together hoisin sauce and 1 tbsp oil.
3. Score the eggplant on both sides with a criss-cross pattern and brush with remaining oil.
4. Grill the eggplant until it is charred and tender on both sides (about 4-7 minutes a side).
5. Brush each side with hoisin mixture.  Grill each side again to form a glaze (1 minute).

***If you don't have any store bought hoisin sauce try this recipe but do not add the oil in step 2.