The Red Pan

Every kitchen has one. A special tool, a favorite plate, gadget or doodad that is nothing special, but is TOTALLY SPECIAL. You know, the things given on special occasions, the wedding gifts, the hand-me-downs, the garage sale finds- the hidden treasures of a home.

At my house, it is the Red Pan. It was my grandmother's- andno pretty, matching, designer or fancy item you see on FoodNetwork, in magazines or at the mall compares to it in my opinion.

It's one of those true multi-taskers. It has stood the test of time and put up with some very rigorous abuse ( I have kids and I involve them in a LOT of cooking). It has made lasagne, baked chicken, pork chops, veggie medley, and cake- lots and lots of cake. I use it a lot for "dump cake", and scratch cake, and birthday cake, and I love you cake.

My cakes are always a little uneven because the bottom of the Red Pan is dented and banged from all the putting in, taking out, putting away and dropping that has happened over the years. I happily eat my dented cakes and remember Gramma Dolly.

Today, the Red Pan was acting as a stand-in grill cover/steamer for some chicken I was making. I started on the outdoor grill, but it ran out of gas. I brought it inside to cook on my combination grill/griddle. I was complaining that outside, I can put a lid over the chicken while it cooks to keep the heat in and I wished I had a cover I could use inside.

Then I remembered the Red Pan. Here it is, being a cover for my Grilled Margarita Chicken, which will go over a summer salad:

The Grilled Margarita Chicken is a recipe I stole and reworked for my family- the original was a little spicier than my kids like, and I almost always forget the dressing. So I skip it.

Start with chicken- I use boneless skinless breasts, but this will taste good with pretty much any part or cut. Stick it in a zippy bag (gallon size) and throw in liquid Strawberry Margarita Mix to cover the chicken completely (my guess is 2 cups). Let that sit a couple of hours, or even overnight.

If you're a planner-person, cut up the following in advance:

1 quart strawberries
1 mango, cantelope or half watermelon

add pineapple chunks if desired (it's about 50/50 at my house)

mix in a large bowl and toss lightly with lemon juice to prevent browning. (Just a touch, really)

If you like, you can make the dressing. Wisk together

About 1/4 cup of the margarita mix

2 TB white vinegar

2 TB olive oil

1 clove minced garlic

1 tsp red pepper flakes

1/2 tsp cumin

The dressing is intended to go on both the fruit and the salad, forgoing the lemon. As I said, I usually skip it and I did tonight. Without the dressing, it should look like this:

Grill the chicken up -outside is better, but indoor will do.

The done chicken will be PINK! You'll need to cut it to be sure it is done rather than going by looks. Cut it into chunks or strips for easy eating.

Put some salad (spinach, iceberg, romaine, whatever you like) on a plate like so:

Then toss some of your fruit and chicken pieces on the salad, and side some cucumbers (the free ones I am still swimming in) and you have a yummy dinner!

This is one of my favorite ways to eat light. I usually make up enough chicken for 2 meals so I can have Margarita Chicken PASTA salad the next day.

Yum!