Tuesday, June 19, 2012

T@t{summer}T: Cast Iron Grilled Chicken with Lilac Ratatouille

Grilling is the theme this week over at Debbie's Tuesday at the {summer}Table feature and although my BBQ is closed during the week, last night I pulled out my Cast Iron Grill Pan and went to work.  I had no plan, no recipe or thought to what the final outcome for dinner might be other than to grill some chicken and use my Lilac Bell Pepper.  

My first step was to find out how this baby tasted as I needed to know if it was sweet like a red bell or armpit tasting like a green bell (yes, I'll admit not a fan of the green bell pepper) or somewhere in between?  


I could tell by how it felt that it had a pretty thin hull and upon cutting it open I confirmed that thought but what caught me by surprise was the white inside.  Unfortunately I must tell you that the Lilac bell pepper didn't taste like much of anything.  No sweetness but no armpit taste either so the idea of using this raw in a salad was out, it would need to be cooked and seasoned.


Next up was grilling my chicken.  I wanted the chicken to cook evenly so I sliced each boneless chicken breast in half horizontally so I could have pieces that were all the same thickness.  The uniformity of the chicken makes grilling indoors so much easier as (theoretically) all of the pieces should be done at the same time.

Into another pan went onion, garlic to sweat for a while and then I threw in the bell peppers.  I let all cook together for about 10 minutes.  I was going for a modified ratatouille so I added in some tomatoes just before I plated my dinner.

I served my Cast Iron Grilled Chicken with Cavatappi  (a corkscrew shaped pasta with ridges) that had been lightly seasoned with olive oil and a bit of Parmesan cheese, and then covered with my Lilac ratatouille and a basil chiffonade from my garden.  Chiffonade is such a fun word - sounds so pretentious for thinly sliced basil.
Cast Iron Grilled Chicken with Lilac Ratatouille

Dinner was a success all around as it was light, well seasoned and contained a multitude of textures and flavors.

One last item for today  ~ my Latte Quilt came back to me yesterday via the UPS man. This was the quilt I made for Hoffman Fabrics  for Quilt Market in Houston, TX last year.  I'll have more on a future post about where it has been and where it is going (Giveaway opportunity!).

Latte Quilt 42" x 39"

I'm linking up with Debbie at her Tuesday at the {summer}Table feature today.

Enjoy your Tuesday!
Susan

7 comments:

  1. Oh my goodness, I can't believe you finally got your Latte quilt back!! Did it come with pictures of all the places it visited? The Lilac pepper is gorgeous, too bad it didn't taste like much. Maybe they need to stay on the vine a little longer (that's what I've found with our peppers). I love all peppers, and size or color, except for the deadly Serrano.

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  2. That bell pepper sure is pretty, to bad it didn't have much taste...that is always disappointing! Your dish looked really good though...

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  3. Bummer that the pretty pepper was not much in the way of taste. The meal looks quite delicious, nonetheless. I want one of those pans. Especially now I don't have a grill or a backyard to grill in.
    Glad to see the Latte quilt made it home safe and sound.
    I listened to the podcast yesterday on the way home from dropping some girls (including my own) at girls camp up in the mountains. I had a nice long car ride to enjoy it. And I did!

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  4. Oh, and thanks for sharing about my post about the Quilters Run. I wanted to ask you if my post was unclear about what I bought and what was free.
    I am planning to hit 2 more shops on Friday if I can. Too bad the run is over weekends only as I passed at least one of the shops in Temecula on my excursion yesterday.

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  5. Boy the pepper sure is pretty - disappointing it didn't have much flavor. Your dinner looks tasty though! And I had no idea your quilt would be gone so long! Wow...

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  6. Just got done listening to the long-arm podcast. You asked a couple of questions....the cost of renting time varies quite a bit by location and type of machine. I rent on a computerized machine, so I don't "drive" the machine, I just load the quilt, program it, and babysit it while the machine does all the work. This costs me $30/hour +$5 thread fee. The cost per quilt varies a LOT by the size of the quilt and how dense the quilting is. I like a looser quilting because I think it makes the quilt softer, so I can do a lap size in about 90 min.

    I have a Bernina 440 (which is no longer made, I think) with a stitch regulator foot. I LOVE my Bernina. It works great, doesn't eat corners or knot up in the bobbin case, it just always works really well. I don't do a lot of fancy stuff on it, but have put it to the test with some costume work and it hasn't failed me yet. I would suggest purchasing it close to your home so that you can take the classes that are offered and have regular servicing done conveniently.

    Have fun!

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  7. I love your latte quilt!

    I've grown some deep purple bell pepper before, but I do not remember the exact variety name. They were very nice in salads, but when I cooked them, they turned a green colour. WEIRD.. They weren't as bitter and nasty as regular green peppers.. which I hate, except in gumbo. :-)

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