Music and a Meal

Happy Friday!  Sorry for the delay in posting today and the lack of post yesterday, I’ve been having internet trouble associated with the move, but that’s all been fixed now, so we’ll be back on track next week.

Anywho, back on track.  This week I’m putting up a song that, while it isn’t new, is so happy and so upbeat that I thought it was absolutely perfect for a warm, summery Friday: “It’s Good to Be Us” by Bucky Covington (who, by the way, reminds me of what a Confederacy General might look like if he was dropped into today’s world – weird but true).  To go with that today I put together a perfect summer dinner recipe: Beer Can Chicken, Strawberry Salad with Poppy Seed Dressing, and Corn on the Cob.  So, without any further ado, here’s the music video and the recipe.  Enjoy!

Beer Can Chicken, Strawberry Salad, and Corn on the Cob

Ingredients for Beer Can Chicken (from Food Network)

• 1 (4 pound) whole chicken
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 2 tablespoons salt (I like mine with less, but this is the actual recommended amount)
• 1 teaspoon black pepper
• 3 tablespoons of your favorite dry spice rub
• 1 can beer

Ingredients for Strawberry Salad with Poppy Seed Dressing (from Cooking Light)

• 3  tablespoons  sugar
• 3  tablespoons  light mayonnaise
• 2  tablespoons  fat-free milk
• 1  tablespoon  poppy seeds
• 1  tablespoon  white wine vinegar
• 1  (10-ounce) bag romaine lettuce
• 1  cup  sliced strawberries
• 2  tablespoons  slivered almonds, toasted

Ingredients for the rest of dinner

• Corn on the cob (1 per person)
• Dinner rolls (if desired)
• Light beer (Cooking Light recommends Sam Adams Light or Yuengling Light, I’m good with either!)

Directions

• Start grill heating.  The chicken will need to cook over medium-high indirect heat.
• Prepare chicken (remove neck and giblets, rinse, pat dry), rub chicken lightly with oil, then rub the chicken inside and out with salt, pepper, and dry rub.
• Open beer can, drink half (seriously, that’s actually an instruction!), and then put the can on a solid surface. With a chicken leg in each hand, plop the chicken onto the beer can.
• Transfer the chicken to the grill grate, balancing the chicken on its two legs and the can.  The chicken then needs to cook, with the grill cover on, for 75 minutes (until the breast temperature is 165 and the thigh is 180).
• When the chicken is twenty minutes away from being done, clean and chop up strawberries for the salad and rinse the lettuce.
• When the chicken is ten minutes away from being done, start husking the corn.
• When the chicken is five minutes away from being done, start a large pot of water boiling for the corn (give yourself more time if its going to be a larger pot).
• When the chicken is done, remove it from the grill and put it on the cutting board, but don’t cut it yet.  Give it ten minutes to rest.
• While the chicken is resting put the corn in the boiling water, return the water to a boil, and boil the corn for 5-7 minutes.  Also, mix the first five ingredients of the salad together in a small bowl.  In a salad bowl put the lettuce, strawberries, and almonds, and then add the dressing.
• Carve the chicken, get the corn out of the water, and serve up the salad (and dinner rolls if you want them), open a can of beer, and enjoy!

Have a great weekend, and check back next week!  I have a big announcement, we’ll finish up the organizing posts (once you’ve had time over the weekend to finish out your timetable and purge all your old stuff), and there’s going to be an awesome Wedding Wednesday.

See you on Monday!