September 27, 20217

September 27, 2017

What a jerk! Jk... We were making jerk chicken and boy was that pretty fun. Chef KJ did a lovely grill demonstration on how to grill corn in the husk, pineapple, and chicken. It was very delicious looking and after trying it out, it went pretty well.

Fluted Mushrooms:
THIS IS HARD. I am quite certain that it gets better with practice because even after 3 or 4 mushrooms, I was already improving. I love the design of the fluted swirls and it makes the mushroom look much classier. With practice comes perfection!

Risotto:
So good and not hard! I love the whole point of risotto is to create a beautiful creamy rice mixture. The key to getting that creamy consistency is stirring it constantly and adding stock as needed. The rice needs to keep a little chew and still be creamy. I loved learning how to do this. I feel like it was relatively simple and it was a perfect addition to the chicken. I would have loved to add a few more herbs and a see how it would taste with other cheeses. The nice thing about the risotto is that it can go with practically any entrée.

Jerk Chicken:
After fabricating my chicken with a severely burned palm, I felt pretty accomplished. We covered it in the rub that we made as a group and threw it on the grill as we were directed by Chef KJ. The Jerk Chicken does really well with a blackened smoked flavor. The spices were very strong but it made for very flavorful and spicy chicken. I feel like with grilling, it comes down to how blackened the food looks ti know if it is done. Obviously if it hardly has any grill marks, it hasn't had enough time to fully cook. Chef reminded us of one sure way to check and see if chicken is by poking and seeing what color the juices are. If they run clear, the chicken is ready to go.

Pineapple:
Cut it, grill it, and you get super sticky, sweet and syrupy pineapple. SO good and perfectly paired with spicy chicken. Keep grill marks looking uniform and watch it carefully so it doesn't burn.

Corn:
True, keeping it in the husk as it cooks on the grill gives the corn a better flavor. I was running out of time so I shucked it and rotated it on the grill until it was fully cooked. I think I prefer oven roasted and boiled corn better but it was still very sweet and tasty. I think it would have been nice to add lime and some chile to it. I love grilled corn that way.

WHAT I LEARNED:
Keep an eye on the things you are grilling, but don't worry too much if it gets a little dark. The grill will give it deeper flavor. Also, don't grab a burning hot pan handle with a bare hand. It will hurt.

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