Chiles and Limes go together like Love and Marriage

It’s been two weeks now since my daughter’s wedding to a wonderful young man.  The wedding was lovely and we were lucky the weather was not hot, nor cold.  The weekend before the wedding the temperature was 106 degrees.  Two days after the wedding the weather turned quite cold-around 65 degrees- and rainy.  This past weekend, the weather was 109 degrees.  The temperature on my daughter’s wedding day was 89 degrees.  God was definitely smiling on this wedding.

The wedding was at a beautiful outdoor location, which suited my daughter and her new husband perfectly.  Yes!Chef! was not allowed to do any cooking and I was not allowed to be the photographer, although I did take a few photos with my point and shoot

My kidz: Christopher, Aly and Pat

I didn’t take the above photos, my photographer did, and I love them.

I did sneak my point and shoot in, though, and I took this photo of the photog, his wife and the bride and groom.

But now, the excitement is over and the happy couple are backpacking thru Italy and loving every minute.  Yes!Chef! and I dream of going to Italy, also.  Maybe next year.

As I mentioned above, the weather has been quite warm in California the last couple of days, so Yes!Chef! and I have been staying in Lake Tahoe.  And even here, at over 6,000 feet above sea level, it has been quite warm.  Not many people have air conditioning up here, so it becomes a little uncomfortable in this warm weather.

When the warm weather hits, Yes!Chef! likes to barbecue.  He says it’s because it doesn’t heat up the kitchen, but I think he just loves to grill things.

So, when I suggested that I make a recipe calling for the flavors of chile powder and lime, he immediately began planning how he could grill something using those same flavors.  I had my eye on a recipe called Chile Lime Roasted Butternut Squash Salad.  It is a Martha Stewart Recipe and can be found here. All of the ingredients looked delicious to me, so I made it, with my own spin – a little Chipotle chile powder for a kick to balance the honey.

The hardest part of this recipe is cutting and peeling the butternut squash, which is a very hard vegetable. You could also substitute sweet potatoes if you don’t care for that squashy flavor.  Once you’ve peeled and cut the squash, put it in a bowl and toss it around with some olive oil.  Then, lay it out on a parchment lined baking sheet and sprinkle with the seasoning on both sides.  (Only too late did we realize we had run out of parchment and I was forced to use foil.)

I think my seasoning could have been a little more evenly sprinkled, but it worked out tastily.

Then, I put the squash in a 400 degree oven and roasted it for about 25-30 minutes.  It takes a little longer to cook things at this elevation, so you might want to stick with 20-25 minutes

They were quite beautiful when they were done.  Then, all I needed to do was to prepare the salad and the dressing and wait for Yes!Chef! to finish his part of the dinner…the wonderfully tasty chicken.

Here’s the recipe for the Chile-Lime Roasted Butternut Squash Salad from Martha Stewart.

I used this recipe almost exactly as written, but I added about 1/4 teaspoon  Chipotle Chile Pepper powder.

If you are going to make the chicken (and you should), make sure you make some extra seasoning from the above recipe.  Yes!Chef! tailored the chicken and artichoke recipes to be eaten with the salad, but you can make them on their own.

Here’s Yes!Chef!’s recipe for the chicken:

Chile Lime Chicken

Makes 4 thighs (2 servings)

Ingredients

• 4 chicken thighs
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 tbs. chopped cilantro plus a little more for finishing
• 1/3 cup chicken broth
• 1/4 cup lime juice
• 1 tbs. rose’s lime juice
• 1 tsp. honey
• 1 tbs. plus 1/2 tsp. chile spice mixture from butternut squash salad recipe
• 1 tsp. Tabasco

Directions

1. Pat chicken thighs dry with paper towels and sprinkle evenly with 1 Tbs. Chile Spice mixture.
2. Put on grill and cook until done.  Do not overcook.  Remember it needs to rest a little.
3. Meanwhile, place the garlic, 1 tbs. chopped cilantro, chicken broth, lime juices, honey, 1/2 tsp. chile spice mixture and Tabasco in a pot and mix together well.
4. Heat the pot to medium and allow to reduce a little until thickened.
5. When the chicken thighs are done and rested, pour sauce over the top of the thighs and sprinkle with more chopped cilantro.

The artichokes are fairly simple.  Cut them in half and trim them up and boil for about 45 minutes until tender. Brush some olive oil and sprinkle with the above spice mixture plus about 1/4 teaspoon smoked paprika.  Grill cut side down until water has leached out and it has a nice color. Flip and grill until a little color shows up. This should take only about 10-15 minutes.  You can put the chicken thighs on the cool side of the barbecue to finish off while you are cooking the artichokes.

See how easy and these recipes do not really heat up the kitchen (aside from some oven roasting of the squash and boiling of the chokes.)  The tang of the lime paired with honey and a kick of spice (Tabasco, Chipotle Chile Pepper Powder or Smoked Paprika) makes this a summer meal worth making. It’s especially good for relaxing after all the hub bub of being involved in a wedding.

Enjoy!

Yes!Chef! commented on the above photo when I showed it to him, “This is why I don’t do these types of things.”  I told him, “Well, thank goodness you only have one daughter.”