Lily Pinot & Rotisserie Chicken

So many cooking options....so, today I chose to use my grille's rotisserie, which had not been used in a couple years if memory serves me correctly.  I picked up a whole chicken @ Tag'z 5Star Meats, here in Murfreesboro, and decided to use a simple dry rub so we could enjoy the juicy taste of the chicken.  I started with a light coat of EVOO (Extra Virgin Olive Oil), a light coat of fine ground black pepper as well as kosher salt.  After about 4 hours of resting with the rub, it was time to put the "chick" on the rotisserie.  The grill temp was about ~300 degrees and it cooked for approximately 2 hours and 45 minutes to get to an internal temp of 170-175 degrees.  As the chicken was cooking, I brushed on some EVOO about every 30 minutes.  In the end, I ended up with a nice golden brown, crispy outside and juicy inside.  I did notice that the dark meat was much more juicy than the white but it was all very tasty.


Today's vegetable was fresh eggplant from the local Farmer's Market.  I actually got up early enough to get there and get some fresh veges.  I should do this more often...


Grilled Eggplant with Fresh Ricotta & Grilled Tomato-Basil Relish
 8 ounces fresh sheep's milk ricotta
1/8 cup finely chopped fresh flat leaf parsley
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1. Stir together the ricotta and parsley in a medium bowl and season with salt and pepper.
2. Place the grilled eggplant on a large platter and top each slice with a heaping tablespoon of the ricotta and a heaping      
tablespoon of the tomato-basil relish.
3.  Eggplant slices were grilled for approx 5 to 6 minutes on each side with the grill on high.  Nice grill marks, you're done.


Grilled Tomato-Basil Relish

2  ripe plum tomatoes
2 tablespoons olive oil
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/4 small red onion, finely diced
1 cloves finely chopped fresh garlic
1 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1/8 cup finely chopped fresh basil

1. Heat your grill to high.
2. Place the tomatoes in a bowl and toss with 2 tablespoons of the oil and season with salt and pepper. Place tomatoes on the grill and grill until charred on all sides, and just cooked through, about 10 minutes. Remove from the grill and coarsely chop. Put the chopped tomatoes in a bowl, add the remaining 1 tablespoons of oil, onion, garlic, vinegar and basil and gently mix until combined. Let sit at room temperature for 30 minutes before serving. Can be made 4 hours in advance and refrigerated. Bring to room temperature before serving.