Day 2 - Saturday Night - of the July 4th Holiday Weekend

Dinner was Vinny's Chicken, Pan-Crisped Deviled Egg Salad on Baby Greens and Vanilla Ice Cream in Puff Pastry Shells topped with Home Grown Blackberries sweetened with sugar.

I started marinating the chicken Saturday morning...

Vinny's Chicken
Adpated from the recipe created by Vinny DeGallo for Villa DeGallo Restaurant
Oceanside, California

2 chicken halves or 4 chicken breasts
2 cups or enough white wine to cover the chicken
1/4 cup olive oil
1 - 2 tablespoons chopped garlic
3 sprigs of rosemary

Lay the chicken flat in a container with sides tall enough so the chicken sits below the top. Sprinkle the chopped garlic over the chicken. Remove the leaves from the rosemary sprigs and sprinkle over the chicken. Gently pour in the olive around the sides of the chicken so as not to disturb the garlic and rosemary. Now add the wine, also pouring gently around the sides. Add enough wine to cover the chicken. Allow to marinate 4 - 6 hours, but you can also do it the night before.

About 30 minutes before cooking, remove the chicken from the refrigerator and allow to come to room temperature. Just before cooking, take the chicken out of the marinade and discard the marinade.

For the grill: Heat the grill on high to get it really hot, then turn it down to about 350 degrees. Cook the chicken pieces until done, turning only once (for boneless chicken breasts, about 15 minutes; for chicken halves, about 25 to 30 minutes). Chicken is done when the internal temperature reaches 170 degrees.

For the oven: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Put the chicken in a baking dish or pan and large enough so that the pieces do not touch each other. If you are using chicken halves, place the chicken skin side up. Bake the chicken breasts for about 20 minutes. Chicken halves need about 40 minutes. The chicken is done when the internal temperature reaches 170 degrees.

Debbie's recipe for this wonderful salad is here. If you like deviled eggs, you will love this salad.


Tom grilled our chicken. It was tender, juicy and so flavorful!


And for dessert...

Simple and delicious. Tom baked two premade frozen puff pastry shells, filled them with no sugar, low-fat ice cream (it's really pretty darn good), and topped them with some of our home grown blackberries.

So, tonight is appetizer night. Tom prepped the salmon this morning and is smoking it as I write this...

But more about that tomorrow.

Just a reminder that if you are lighting fireworks tonight, please do it safely.