Happy Monday!  I am on the road again this week visiting clients in Mississippi and West Virginia.  Despite the travels, I have some recapping to do from the camping extravaganza from last week.  I had a blast! We had a blast!  We ate great, the weather was very nice except one rainy day and the kids thoroughly enjoyed themselves.

On to the Food

One evening we invited some friends up to the trailer for a dinner at the picnic table.  I was tossing around the menu ideas all day when I finally came up with a hoisin honey chicken breast topped with a fresh mango/pear salsa, grilled sweet potatoes with a brown sugar/butter glaze and a simple orange avocado salad.  I also did a quick grilled zucchini with a orange garlic marinade to compliment the salad.

The prep was fun and at the same time a little different and challenging with limited supplies.  Counter space was definitely at a minimum as well but indeed we did prevail.

Chicken Marinade

Ingredients

• 5 Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts
• 4-5 Cilantro sprigs
• 2 Tbsp. Hoisin Sauce
• 2 Tbsp. Soy Sauce
• 1 Tsp. Ginger
• 1 Clove garlic
• 3 Tbsp. Balsamic Vinegar
• Salt and Pepper

Method

1. Combine all ingredients in a large bowl and let sit for 1-2 hours before grilling.
2. Preheat grill over medium heat.
3. Place chicken and let sear on one side ( about 6 minutes )
4. Flip and continue cooking on other side until cook through
5. Remove from heat and cover with foil to let the juices move back to the center of the meat.
6. ENJOY!

Mango Pear Salsa

Ingredients

• 2 Mangoes
• 2 Pears
• 1/4 Cup cilantro ( chopped )
• 1 shallot ( finely chopped)
• 1 Tbsp.  Hot sauce
• Juice of two limes
• 2 Tbsp. Olive oil

Method

1. Peel and chop both the mangoes and the pears
2. Place in a large mixing bowl and add all other ingredients.
3. Let flavors come together for at least 30 minutes in the fridge.
4. Place on top of bbq chicken.
5. ENJOY!

2 Way Potatoes

Ingredients

• 3 Sweet Potatoes
• 3 PEI Russet Potatoes
• Fresh rosemary
• Drizzle of Olive oil
• 1 Clove Garlic
• Salt and pepper
• 2 Tbsp. Butter
• 2 Tbsp. Brown Sugar

Method

1. Peel potatoes and microwave potatoes for 9 minutes
2. Cut into medallions and place in two separate bowls
3. For the russet potatoes combine rosemary, olive oil, garlic, salt and pepper and mix to coat.
4. Grill over medium heat to achieve char marks and until they are fork tender with a nice crust.
5. For the sweet potatoes, toss with olive oil, salt and pepper and grill over medium heat.
6. In another bowl, melt butter and brown sugar in the microwave and brush on the sweet potatoes as you grill each side.
7. Cook until a crust is formed and they are tender on the inside.
8. ENJOY!

Orange Avocado Salad

For the orange avocado salad, you can refer to the full recipe.  The flavors in here are amazing and really a nice fresh flavor for the chicken and the starchy potatoes.

Zesty Tip: When preparing for a dinner party – take the time and organize the menu, ingredients and the prep time.  This will allow you to enjoy the company as opposed to sweating in the kitchen.

I am aboard the plane to Alabama and then driving over to Tupelo.  I hope you have a super Monday.  Stay tuned for a simple grilled quesadillas that impressed the pickiest of eaters.

Take care

zesty

OH CANADA!  Where do I start with today’s post.  Let’s just say yesterday was a pretty exciting day for Canadians.  Not only did we win the Men’s Hockey Gold medal in an exciting game but we won the most gold medals in Olympic history.  All I can say is WOW and now I am not sure what I am going to do without any Olympics on for another couple of years.

Although the Olympics are over, the food lives on forever.  Today I want to share with you another spin on some sweet potatoes.  If you don’t know, I am a large lover of sweet potatoes and I will eat them in any way shape or form.  Here is a few of the ways I have featured them on zesty in the past:

• Twice Baked Sweet Potatoes
• Sizzling Sweet Potato Skins
• Grilled Sweet Potatoes
• Baked Sweet Potato Fries
• Garlic Mashed Sweet Potatoes

It is hard to believe how many times I have feature sweet potatoes but as I am sure you will agree with me…. these little orange babies are tough to beat.  Below is the simple instructions I used to create the Sweet Potato Stack.

Ingredients

• 2 Large sweet potatoes
• 1 Tbsp. Olive oil
• Salt
• Pepper

Method

1. Preheat Oven to 400 degrees and line baking pan with parchment paper.
2. Toss sweet potatoes in olive oil
3. Add salt and pepper
4. Bake for 20-30 minutes  – watching the sweet potatoes caramelize on the top.  Turn the potatoes over and continue cooking for another 10 minutes.



5. Move the sweet potatoes to the top rack and turn the heat down to 250 to let the sweet potatoes dry a little bit and become even crispier.
6. ENJOY!

Zesty Tip: The huge tip here is the thickness that you cut the sweet potatoes.  Cutting them too thin will cause them to burn and become inedible and cutting them too thick will almost cause them to be baked.  About an inch thick is the ideal thickness to get the amazing caramelized crust and the soft marshmallow like texture on the inside.

Zesty’s House Cleaning

1. Please Vote for me and Campbell’s.
2. Enter to win the free blog makeover giveaway

Alright Monday is in full wing and things are happening and back to “normal“.  I want everyone to have a great Monday and start the week off with a bang.  How is the weather in your region of the world?  I woke up to heavy rains and high winds… is spring on the way?  Let me know your thoughts on mother nature and I will talk to you soon.

Take care

zesty