Good morning and Happy Mother’s Day!

It is a sunny start here in NH and I again woke to what sounds like a kitten outside my upstairs bedroom window. I have been hearing a bird that sounds like a kitten crying for at least a week now. I also hear it while sitting on the porch after work. I am guessing it must be feeding times? I can’t see it but it is loud and needs to move along or leave the nest soon. I know I live in the woods who do I think I am; but I have owned/lived here for over 30 years the Gray Catbird just moved in – just saying!

This morning I actually googled it to see what it is and you know how you type in a few words and google gives you a few options and they know what you are thinking. I find that a little scary just saying. How do they know what I am going to ask? Similar to my phone telling me how long it takes to get somewhere. How does it know where I am going. When my phone told me how long it took to get to my favorite local restaurant after I had just made reservations I definitely had a; big brother is watching moment… OK that’s way too long on this subject back to the recipe I want to share with you.

It seems to be a theme that this is a recipe my daughter made from one of her favorite cookbooks Cook Beautiful; twice now and is SO good even the next day re-heated. The marinade for the chicken is amazing and full of flavor and you must try this. It may look like a lot of ingredients but you make the marinade the day before place the chicken in it and leave it until the next day. You can make or buy tzatziki; we have had it both ways and both were great. The skewer grills up quickly and you have your meat and veggies all in one place. I would love for you to give it a try and I hope you enjoy it as much as my family has and will again.

Chicken and Artichoke skewers with Herbed dressing

dclarkabal

A little plan in advance and this comes together quickly for a great weeknight meal

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Course dinner

Equipment

• skewers

Ingredients

  

Marinade

• 1/2 cup plain full fat Greek yogurt
• 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
• 4 cloves garlic minced
• 2 1/2 teaspoons ginger minced
• 2 tablespoons cilantro fresh, chopped
• 2 tablespoons parsley fresh, chopped
• 3/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 1 1/2 teaspoons Aleppo pepper
• 2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 2 teaspoons smoked paprika

Skewers

• 2 pounds boneless skinless chicken thighs cut into 2-inch pieces
• 2 14 ounce-cans whole artichoke hearts drained, halved
• 2 medium red onions cut into 1 1/2 inch pieces
• 2 small zucchini's cubed
• 1 cup cherry tomatoes
• extra virgin olive oil for drizzling
• freshly cracked black pepper

Lemon-Herbed Vinaigrette - drizzle this over grilled chicken or alongside delicate fish - makes 1 cup

• 1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice 2-3 lemons
• 1 lemon zested
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 teaspoon honey
• pinch of Aleppo pepper
• 2 tablespoons parsley fresh, finely chopped
• 1 tablespoon cilantro fresh, finely chopped

Tzatziki sauce - makes 2 cups or buy pre-made

• 1 cup full fat Greek yogurt
• 1 hot house cucumber seeded and finely chopped
• 1 small clove garlic minced
• few dill sprig leaves finely chopped
• few mint sprig leaves finely chopped
• 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• kosher salt and fresh cracked black pepper

Instructions

 

Marinade

• In a large bowl, combine all of the ingredients along with the chicken, stir thoroughly to combine. Cover and refrigerate, allowing the chicken to marinate a minimum of 3 hours, best if overnight.

Making the skewers

• Drizzle the veggies with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Skewer the chicken, alternating each piece with the veggies. Discard the leftover marinade.

pre-heat the grill over medium-high heat, about 400'F

• Grill the skewer until lightly charred and cooked through, about 6 minutes per side. Before serving, drizzle the sewers with the vinaigrette. Serve with the tzatziki and any remaining vinaigrette on the side.

Lemon-Herb Vinaigrette

• in a small bowl, whisk all of the ingredients together and taste for seasoning,

Tzatziki

• in a medium bowl, stir all of the ingredients together. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Garnish with a few sprigs of fresh dill. This can be stored for a couple of dats in the fridge, if you have any leftover that is.