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Everything old is new again...
 There is something about a food challenge that puts the fear of God, and everything else, in me. I don't know what it is or why. I am a strong and confident woman. I have had a great career. I have been offered jobs, serious well paying jobs, on the merit of a single interaction. But give me a test and I waiver. Box me in and I may very well cry. I don't want to be judged or fail or feel any scrutiny. So why do I blog? Because I have to cook foods I love and I love to write. But participate in a food challenge? It's not in my comfort zone. Sure I cooked with words, but I felt my results were not up to my normal "fun factor". I've combined food with wood and, although it left me feeling sunny, I knew it was not the ultimate in artistry. But I did in anyway. Why? Because I believe the tighter you hold on to a secret the more it will control your life. So I am telling another of my secrets in the hope that I can be free of it. (Please understand that I am smiling while I write this!)  I read the rules for the Everything Old is New Again challenge (given to us by the fabulous Domestic Muse) after I had come up with this idea, so I am submitting an unofficial entry because I broke those rules. But the food was simply so good that I had to share. Today I give you the Gourmet American Picnic, a grown up version of a great American tradition. One that I don't have a lot of experience with because of growing up overseas, but one that has been around for many, many years. We start with Watermelon Bliss, a simple drink of watermelon, Cachaca, fresh squeezed lime juice, and a dash of agave nectar. (Notice a pattern here?) To give us something to munch on while we wait for our barbecue, we have spicy hot peanuts creating a fire in our mouths, the perfect contrast with our drinks. Dinner is blackened chicken fingers with a newly discovered, local, spicy barbecue sauce we found this weekend. Hot, spicy, mouth full of flavor, simply good - I will tell you more about it tomorrow because it is really good. I sliced two chicken breasts into big chunks (fingers), and seasoned with salt, pepper, and ground dried garlic. In a hot cast iron pan drizzled with a little olive oil I cooked the chicken on both sides, basted with the barbecue sauce and put in a warm oven to finish cooking and stay warm (time and temperature depends on the thickness of your chicken pieces), while I finished preparing the rest of the meal. After removing from the oven I served them with quinoa made with chicken broth, grilled asparagus, great American corn off the cob, and a side of spicy barbecue sauce.  This picture shows the chicken without (l) and with (r) barbecue sauce. Dessert at the great American barbecue is often fresh chunks of watermelon. I took my watermelon and turned it into granita, in addition to our drinks. The best part of this dessert? Find out tomorrow Monday when I will share that, in addition to the recipes and more. What's your favorite barbecue food?  Enjoy! 
       
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