Grilled Pesto Chicken with Espresso-Balsamic Glaze

So some nights there just isn't time to prepare a menu and grocery shop.  Some nights there's time but you just don't feel like it.  This meal transpired from a night similar to that.  Dinner time was staring me in the face and I had nothing up my sleeve planned.  When I opened my fridge the ingredient that sparked this meal was a half full container of pesto from Tomato Head.  For those of you who aren't familar, it happens to be the greatest pesto in all of the world.  I threw a few ingredients in a large ziploc bag and a marinade was born.  I was surprised how easy this came together and also how flavorful the chicken turned out.  I served this with Roasted Cherry Tomatoes and Parmesan Fingerlings with Carmelized Onions and Fennel.  I have a feeling that this is going to be a summer time go-to recipe for me.

Grilled Pesto Chicken with Espresso-Balsamic Glaze  (1-5 Star Rating System)

Erika: 9

Brent: NA

Brennan: 9 (His favorite part was the glaze.)

Drew: 8

Ingredients

• 3-4  chicken breast halves
• 3/4 cup pesto
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• juice of 1/2 of a lemon
• 1 tsp garlic powder (I would have used freshly minced garlic but somehow I didn't have any)

Glaze

• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 cup of balsamic vinegar
• 1/2 tsp instant espresso powder

Instructions

1. Place chicken breasts in a ziploc bag and pound to your desired thickness.
2. Toss together the ingredients for the chicken and marinade in a ziploc bag and set aside for about an hour in the fridge.  Make sure to flip it, periodically.  
3. Place brown sugar and vinegar in a saucepan on medium heat.  Bring to a boil and reduce to simmer.  Add the instant espresso and allow to thicken,  about 30 minutes.  
4. Meanwhile, when ready to grill the chicken, preheat grill to 375º-450º.  Once preheated, grill chicken to have an internal temperature of 160º, about 5 minutes per side.  
5. Allow to rest for a few minutes.  Once plated, drizzle balsamic glaze over the top and enjoy.  

Adventures in Gluten Free Sushi

Being gluten free and eating out can be a challenge. But it can be nearly impossible to eat gluten free at a sushi restaurant when you don't like fish or seafood.

Last night, a group of us invaded Knoxville's most popular sushi stop, Nama, for their Thursday 1/2 price sushi night. With any group that large, the server has his hands full, but when you throw in someone who is GF, someone who is pregnant and can't eat raw fish, a vegetarian or two, and a couple kids who would prefer Mac and cheese to sushi, our server had his work cut out for him. Thankfully, he was knowledgeable and patient. He was happy to walk me through the GF menu and was quick to correct me when I mistakenly ordered something with gluten in it. Before my meal arrived, he even brought me my own bottle of soy sauce. 

So, what did I eat?  I ordered one roll and since I wasn't sure how I'd do with that, I also ordered 2 sides. I started with a house salad. It normally comes with a soy vinaigrette, but I ordered mine with their citrus vinaigrette. It was tasty, but next time I will know to order it without the sea salt sprinkled over the top since it was a little over powering for my tastes. Second, I had edamame. To avoid gluten, I ordered mine steamed and salted rather than chilled with sweet soy vinaigrette. Although skeptical about the roll that I ordered, I really enjoyed it. When ordering, I immediately sought out the vegetarian rolls. I settled on The Philly. The menu describes it as "mixed greens, tomatoes, red onion, cucumber topped with wasabi hummus, cilantro oil and toasted pine nuts". I describe it as "oh my gee good"! I ordered mine with soy papers, which were on the GF menu, instead of nori. It was so good that I am not only willing to go back to Nama, but I am eager too.

 I'm still learning to eat Gluten Free, but as my adventures take me out of my comfort zone I am learning that there is delicious food available at every turn.