“One must always welcome guests sincerely, with a certain effusion of the heart, for when they come to your table they must already be happy with you.”
‘La Petite Cuisine’, du baron Brisse (1870)

Tony and I have been watching a lot of Chef Anthony Bourdain on Netflix lately. It satisfies Tony’s love of history, my love of food, and both of our love of travel. We viewed all the Middle Eastern selections over the last week, so it was only natural I make something from the region.

On the menu today:

hummus and chapati

grilled chicken, basted in yogurt sauce… with lots of garlic

grilled peppers

grilled corn with spicy tarragon butter

tabbouleh salad

I’ve posted recipes for tabbouleh, hummus and chapati, so I won’t do a repeat, But this yogurt marinade? ~ I NEED to share with you… as you’ll see in the photos, the marinade allowed for beautiful grill marks ~

We used 1/2 pound thin, boneless breast and 1 pound boneless, skinless thighs

Marinade:

• 1/2 cup Plain yogurt
• 6 cloves garlic, smashed and minced
• juice of 1 lemon
• 2 T olive oil
• pinch of Kosher salt
• 1/4 tsp crushed red pepper

On a rimmed baking sheet, cover bottom with plastic wrap; drizzle with olive oil; place chicken on baking sheet and set aside.  In a medium bowl, combine all ingredients; whisk until smooth. Separate 3 T into a smaller dish, so as not to contaminate entire yogurt sauce. Brush chicken, dipping from the smaller bowl; cover with plastic wrap, refrigerate until grill is nice and hot. Grill chicken until no longer pink inside. Serve with reserved sauce… trust me, it sounds simple ~ but SO full of flavor!

Little and lasting is better than much and passing — Moroccan Proverb