We have been spending a good chunk of this quarantine at my aunt and uncle’s house in Port Washington to get out of the city. This weekend, we had such beautiful weather we decided it was time to HIT THE GRILLZ!!!!
One of my aunt’s summertime BBQ staples is teriyaki chicken with pineapple and swiss cheese. I don’t usually like Swiss cheese — like when I eat it straight, it reminds me of what I think a pacifier probably tastes like. But melted on this chicken with the pineapple and teriyaki goodness, it’s just bonkers delicious. Trust me on this!!!
If you don’t have a grill (aka most of us city dwellers), I’m sure you can still try this at home! Maybe with a cast iron grill pan? I mean it’s chicken and pineapple, you can’t really go wrong.
For this meal, we also did a twist on Mexican street corn. None of us had ever made Mexican street corn, so this was an adventure! We didn’t have mayo but we did have a LOT of Greek yogurt, which became a happy accident of deliciousness because I actually loved this version so much more than the mayo kind I’ve had in the past! Don’t get me wrong, I love mayo, but the yogurt made it lighter and let the corn and all the other flavors shine a little brighter in my opinion 🙂 We also used grated parmesan cheese instead of cotija (also a delicious swap, gave it a little more flavor).
Ingredients for the Teriyaki Chicken with Pineapple
- 6 chicken breasts (or however many you’re making)
- 1 can sliced pineapple (you’ll use the juice from the can too!)
- 6 slices of Baby Swiss cheese (or however many chicken breasts you’re doing)
- 1.5 cups of teriyaki sauce
- 2 tbsp orange juice
- 2 tbsp soy sauce
- Salt
Step 1:
Grab a medium bowl which will fit all your chicken breasts (we’re starting with a marinade!). Mix up the teriyaki, orange juice, soy sauce and just a dash of salt in the bowl. Add 1/4 cup of pineapple juice from the can of sliced pineapple and mix again. Add in your chicken breasts and mix them up in the marinade, then let it sit in the fridge for an hour.
Step 2:
Let the grill heat up for about 10 min on medium heat. Cook the chicken on one side for about 6 minutes — until you have some sweet sweet grill marks on that side.
Andrew and I have watched a lot of Guy’s Grocery Games (like A LOT) and the judges lose their goddamm minds over perfect grill marks. Their culinary repertoire usually presumably includes crazy shit like wagyu cotton candy and fois gras ice cream but when they see grill marks they’re like:
Anyway, fuck it, I’m all in on the grill marks. BLOW ME AWAY!
Step 3:
Once you have achieved the kind of grill marks that would make Alex Guarnaschelli shit butter out of her pants (yikes, but I stand by it), turn the chicken over to grill on the other side.
At the same time, grill your pineapple slices for a few minutes. Once the chicken has been grilling on the second side for about 4 minutes, put one slice of grilled pineapple on top of each breast, and one slice of Baby Swiss on each pineapple slice. Keep grilling for another two minutes or so, until the cheese has gotten melty and you’ve achieved #ThatGoodCharChar on side #2.
And that’s it!!
Here’s what to do for the corn (which should be grilling at the same time as the chicken)
Ingredients for the Mexican Street Corn
- 4 ears of corn, grilled
- ½ cup of Greek yogurt
- 1 lime, juiced
- Salt and pepper
- Cilantro, chopped (to taste)
- Paprika (to taste)
- Grated parmesan cheese (to taste)
Step 1:
Grill the corn. Not a lot of instructions here, just get them grill marks, girl! Should take about 10 minutes.
Step 2:
While the magic is happening on the grill, work on your… spread? sauce? lather? Not sure what to call it. Scoop about half a cup of Greek yogurt into a small-ish bowl. Add the juice from one lime. Shake in a little salt and pepper. Set aside! You can also chop up some fresh cilantro and set aside in a little bowl.
Step 3:
Once the corn is ready, let it cool for a hot sec, then slather on that yogurt/lime goodness with a basting brush.
Guys, I didn’t know what the word for a basting brush was. First I googled “kitchen utensil to spread stuff.” Aka a knife lol. Then I tried “baster with teeth.” Then I googled “thing you use to spread baste stuff on turkey.” BINGO!
Anyway, here’s a pretty shot of the slathered up corn:
Step 4:
I’m a big fan of do-it-yourself fixins’ so we let everyone sprinkle on their own cilantro, paprika and grated parmesan to taste. It’s so colorful and pretty!!! We also did grilled onions and roasted brussel sprouts if those tickle your fancy. Enjoy!
Pairs Well With:
Villa Sparina Gavi — my cousin Katie bought a case of this for quarantine and it’s sooo good. We also call it pirate wine because the bottle is kind of a funky shape, like a bottle of rum or something. If you like Sauvignon Blancs or Sancerres, you’d probably dig Gavis too!
Corona Cookbook 