Nobody Here But Us Chickens!

Growing up in California, grilling was a year-round experience.  Here in Seattle, grilling is much more pleasant in the summer and early autumn.  This summer, sadly, the temperature hasn’t gotten about 75 yet.  So this California girl stares out the window, watching it drizzle and dreams of tortilla chips and guacamole on a sunny porch, tanned legs, and clinking cocktail glasses.  Oh, it isn’t all bad in Seattle, I promise.  We have beautiful springs full of cherry blossoms, but nothing will take the place of those too-hot California summers in my head.  In spite of Seattle’s sunless skies, I decided that I was barbecuing, even if it was pouring outside.  I invited friends, who brought over yummy vegetables to grill, and I decided to try Phyllis Diller’s recipe for barbecued chicken.

It’s a simple recipe for barbecue sauce, but it was tangy, spicy, sweet, and received rave reviews from the entire group.  A few recipe notes: I used ketchup that had no high-fructose corn syrup and, instead of hot pepper sauce, I used 4 liberal squirts of sriracha since I like my barbecue sauce on the spicy side.

So, while Seattle doesn’t have many sunny days, I can still eat barbecued chicken and lick my fingers like I did during my childhood.  And this time, my mother wasn’t there to give me the “you’re being rude at the dinner table” look!

8 Comments

  1. Reply
    ganzagwenie June 20, 2010

    Looks SO yummy. Random association… Have you seen “Get him to the Greek” yet? There’s a scene where Puff Daddy (or Diddy, or Sean Combs, or whatever his name is now) goes on a rant and says, “I have 21 Koo Koo Roos, so I don’t worry about me. You don’t even have one Koo Koo Roo, so I worry about you!”… ever since then I’ve wanted to go to a Koo Koo Roo and have a barbecued chicken sandwich… maybe I can have you make me one instead! (-;

  2. Reply
    Kate June 20, 2010

    Me? Don’t smack your lips…you didn’t smack did you? 🙂

  3. Reply
    Cat Berner June 21, 2010

    I lived just outside Seattle for several years and, being a Florida girl, the weather took some getting used to for me as well. But I have to say, no place that I have lived before or since can compare to spring in Washington. Absolutely beautiful!

  4. Reply
    Susan @ The Spice Garden June 23, 2010

    Your photo makes this chicken look so tender and succulent … did you do the poaching thing? I always dry the meat out when I try to poach as a kick-start to barbeque … what’s your secret?

  5. Reply
    Kristen @ Change of Pace June 24, 2010

    That looks incredible! I’ve always wanted to make my own homemade bbq sauce! I’ve bookmarked this post to try it 🙂

  6. Reply
    theUngourmet June 25, 2010

    I feel your lack of summer pain! We are about ready to jump ship here! Your chicken looks fantastic. Great photo!

    • Reply
      alison June 29, 2010

      @Julie and Ungourmet: Yes, this summer has me seriously in need of some sun and summer food!

      @Kristen: Welcome to the blog! I hope you like it!

      @Susan: I poached the chicken on a very low temp, which made all the difference. Then it sits in the barbecue sauce all day, which really helps hold in the moisture!

      @Cat: OMG, yes. The flowers in the spring are amazing!

  7. Reply
    Julie June 29, 2010

    We’ve finally had a bit more summer and I too have been enjoying the grill. Your recipe looks yummy. I’ll have to give it a try. Just a few summer rays makes all the difference in the amount of grilling I do!

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