By Popular Demand: Pear Marinade for Chicken

I can't take all of the credit for these recipes that I'm about to share. I have this way of adapting someone's recipe to suit my preferences and tastes. Often my adaptations come about because I don't have a specified ingredient, or I think a substitution would work better. Without further delay, here's the recipes for the pear chicken.

Pear Chicken Marinade

Ingredients:
½ cup pear vinegar
3 Tablespoons dijon mustard
3 Tablespoons minced garlic
2 Tablespoons onion flakes
1 Tablespoon parsley flakes
½ cup maple syrup or honey (whichever you have available)
¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
½ cup olive oil
Boneless skinless chicken cut into large pieces

I mix all of the ingredients together in a deep baking dish, then I take the chicken breasts and cut them so they are even thickness and size. I then put the chicken in the marinade and let it sit overnight. I then grill it until cooked. I place it on a platter and then dust it with either gorgonzola cheese crumbles or feta cheese crumbles.

Glazed Pears

1 pear per person
The variety of pear you use for this depends on what type you like best, but I think the Bosc works best
3 Tablespoons honey
2 Tablespoons minced shallots
2 Tablespoons soy sauce
1 Tablespoon minced peeled fresh ginger
1 Tablespoon hoisin sauce
1 Tablespoon lemon juice or orange juice (whichever you have available)

I skin and slice the pears and cut them in half. I then soak them in the sauce so they are nicely covered. I then grill them on low heat, just until they get some nice carmelized marks on them. I cook both sides. I then arrange them around the chicken on the platter of chicken.

Snail Butter (It's not just for snails!)

Snail butter is the flavored butter used for making escargot, but it's good for many other things, too!
The snail butter recipe is easily found all over the Internet.

4 ounces of softened butter
½ cup finely chopped shallots
4 cloves of minced garlic
2 Tablespoons of parsley if using fresh; if using dried use only 1-2 teaspoons

The recipe calls for the addition of salt and pepper to the butter, but since salt is already in the butter, I don't add it. But feel free to season to taste.

Simply cream together the softened butter with the ingredients. Grilling corn is a lot of fun. Pull back the husks on the ears without removing them and pull off the corn silk. Pull the husk back over the corn. Then grill the corn on medium heat. The husks have a way of catching on fire as they dry out, but don't panic. Just keep an eye on them.

When ready to serve the corn, brush with the snail butter. Delicious!