Day #227 – Dinner Party for Tom

 Gatlinburg TN

Tom decided to have a cookout today in honor of his getting fired from one job and finding a new one within a couple days.  He invited his parents, Paul, Fran, one of the other campers, Kelly, and me.  He planned on grilling some beef ribs, along with several sides.  When Kelly suggested that he grill chicken instead of ribs, he handed me a bag of 12 frozen chicken breasts and asked me to take care of it.

I firmly believe that good BBQ is a three-step process:

1. Marinade in something appropriate
2. Rub with something deep in flavor
3. Mop with something sweet and spicy

I marinated the chicken in lemon juice, olive oil, garlic, and fresh ginger.  I made a rub of brown sugar, chili powder, cocoa, cinnamon, and salt.  I wanted to make my own mop, but Tom requested a bottled sauce.

There were two immediate problems: The chicken was frozen and I wasn’t sure it would cook evenly on a grill.  Never mind the size of my kitchen.  Since the chicken was so clean, I marinated the breasts in their own bag, right in the kitchen sink.  When they refused to thaw quickly, I threw them in the microwave, two at a time.  Then, working in batches, I rubbed them, and partially cooked them in my toaster oven.  I held each batch until all were baked, then finished them off on the grill with the mop.  They were amazing!  I also made a fresh fruit salad, a green tossed salad.  Fran brought a spicy zucchini cheese dish and Tom’s mother brought cheese biscuits and a peach cobbler.

It was several hours before I realized he’d played a “Tom Sawyer” on me.  I was exhausted from a full day of cooking in a hot little camper, with little help from anyone.  On the other hand, I made a nice dinner for my friend.