Apple Ginger Glaze

From Bobby Flay’s Grill It! (page 69) this is Apple-Ginger Glazed Chicken. I started with two boneless and skinless chicken breasts from Tag’z Five Star Meats. I seasoned them with only salt, ground pepper and olive oil before they hit the grill. While they were sizzling, I combined the glaze ingredients of apple jelly, grated ginger, Worcestershire sauce, and thyme in a small metal pan and let it heat until bubbling. Since we were using apples for the glaze, I also threw some apple slices on the grill – about 2 minutes each side – then brought them off and drizzled a melted butter, honey and cinnamon mixture all over them! When the chicken was just about done I heavily brushed on the glaze and let it ooze down over the meat. Most of Bobby’s recipes “bring the heat” but not this one. These combined flavors were tangy and sweet.

Weather Report. For the first time in a while I was able to look up from the grill and spot the Belt of Orion. Orion is the dominant constellation on a February night’s sky. It is easy to spot with the “belt” of three stars in a straight line. It was snowing last Friday night so I missed the Perigee Moon. I had planned to take out the Astroscan telescope and look at the biggest full Moon of the year, but the snow clouds got in the way. I have a friend named Gerry Garcia (not the Gerry Garcia, the other one). He works for the Federal Aviation Administration in Miami, but he is originally from Puerto Rico. He is also an astronomer like his father before him. Gerry sent me an email last week alerting me to the Perigee Moon, which would appear in the sky 14% wider and 30% brighter because the perigee point of an orbit is the closest approach. But there was more. The Moon was going to chase Mars across the sky all night in a close conjunction. But I missed it. It reminded me of another miss. In 1986 Haley’s Coment made a pass of Earth. On the night that it was to be the brightest in the sky, we planned a family vacation. This turned out to be one of those family stories that is told and retold and gets better with every telling. Our kids were young and I wanted them to see Haley’s Comet. It only comes around every 75 years, so it probably was a once-in-a-lifetime event. To see the comet best you need a really dark place, so we went to Okracoke Island for the weekend. Okracoke is a barrier island of North Carolina that is only accessible by ferry. We stayed at the Sand Dollar Motel, which was fine, but not a five-star resort. On the morning of the comet’s closest pass to Earth, I woke everyone up at 3:00 am. This was supposed to be a life changing event, but nobody was happy with me. We drove up the beach highway and hiked (dragging the kids) over the dunes to look out over the ocean and into the dark deep sky. What we saw was fog. I was disappointed but everyone else was relieved. I had brought along my hunting knife. It’s another whole story as to why I would have a hunting knife in the first place, but this one had a compass on its top and I had planned to use it to help spot the comet. I found out later that Dorothy gave the knife to Ziggy with instructions to stab anybody that we might come across. He was in the second grade. While I was gazing at the stars, the rest of the family was ready to fight off muggers. There were no muggers and no comet.


What was on? There will be light by Ben Harper and the Blind Boys of Alabama seemed appropriate for stargazing. I am certainly not a music critic, but I know what I like. This CD is a mix of jazz and gospel with a beat. I would like to see these guys in concert sometime.


What to Drink? Although I can’t make a connection between the Perigee Moon, the Blind Boys of Alabama and Australia’s Yard Dog Wine, that is what we had. Yard Dog is a blend of Merlot, Cabernet and Verdot. We did not want a spicy wine since the chicken glaze was so tangy – the Merlot blend was a perfect match.
The clouds have returned. So tonight - stargazing no; grilling yes.


Paul