04-08-13-grilled-chicken

 

The Weather Channel says it hit 82° here, today. Gonna be 80+°  tomorrow. I’m rather liking the unseasonable warm weather after the cold we’ve had, but it’s not going to stay. That snowstorm in the midwest is heading our way and we should see the mid- ’50s by Friday. Or so they say. Ya never really know what’s going to happen around here. If ya want to know the weather, look outside. The forecasters never seem to get it right. But it was nice – and the heater was finally turned off. Nonna had her sweater on all day, but she wasn’t freezing.

I was loving it! With windows wide open and a lovely breeze, it was heaven. And heaven means grilling.

We grill year-round, but there’s something special about that first good weather cook-out. And tonight it tasted extra-special-good.

The chicken was marinated in a bit of olive oil, salt, pepper, garlic, and smoked paprika. I’m still trying to learn Nonna’s tastes and have toned things down a lot since she moved in. I’m probably being unnecessarily cautious, because she has eaten everything put in front of her, but I do want to make sure she likes what she’s eating. I’m funny that way.

We did have an “aha” moment with the butternut squash tonight. I know she doesn’t like pumpkin and wasn’t sure if it would carry over to other squash. I peeled and cubed a butternut squash, drizzled it with olive oil, garlic, S&P, and a bit of sage. I thought savory might be a better introduction. She loved it and ate quite a good helping. I was pleased because in the fall and winter we tend to do squash a lot.

I’m also finding that if I serve things family style, she will take minuscule amounts of things and that’s that. If I plate things up, she will pretty much clean her plate. I had thought that serving things family style would at least give her the appearance of having a little control over what she eats, but she seems to eat better when it’s plated for her. Of course, either way entails giving a lot to Cybil under the table. What can ya do?!?

We finished off the plates with some of the salads from the other night. Nonna really liked the macaroni salad. I had the bean and beef, Victor had macaroni, as well. Nothing too heavy. Perfect for the weather.

So, it was another successful meal. And we still have apple pie