Tequila Lime Chicken

On November 4, 2015 By Isobar ExpeditionsIn Recipes2 Comments

Perhaps because we’re about to leave for Mexico in a couple of days, we’ve had tequila on the mind. We originally found this recipe from Ina Garten, but we’ve modified it slightly over time. The original recipe calls for boneless chicken breast with the skin on, but we chose to do bone in chicken thighs this time. We’ve also used this recipe on pork tenderloin as well, since it is very versatile and definitely quite tasty. The key is letting the chicken marinate overnight and letting the chicken soak up all of the flavor. Jalapeño corn bread is a great accompaniment or a corn salad goes really nice as well. We hope that you enjoy it.

Ingredients

1/2 cup Tequila (silver or gold)
3/4 cup Lime Juice – fresh squeezed
1/3 cup Orange Juice – fresh squeezed
3/4 tbsp Chili Powder
3/4 tbsp Jalapeño Pepper – freshly minced (seeded if you prefer less heat)
3/4 tbsp Garlic – freshly minced (about 2 cloves)
1 1/2 tsp Kosher Salt
3/4 tsp Ground Black Pepper
4 Chicken Thighs – skin on

Instructions

In a large bowl or measuring cup, combine the tequila, lime juice, orange juice, chili powder, garlic, jalapeño pepper, salt, and black pepper. Whisk the ingredients together. Place the chicken thighs into a shallow pan or baking dish. Pour the marinade over the chicken so that it covers the chicken thighs. Cover and place in a refrigerator overnight (turning the chicken thighs over occasionally). Heat a grill pan or grill to medium-high heat. Remove the chicken from the marinade and grill the chicken thighs, skin side down, until golden brown, approximately 10 – 15 minutes. Flip the thighs, reduce the heat to medium, and continue to grill until cooked through, approximately 10 – 15 minutes. Remove from the heat and let rest at least 5 minutes before serving.

Pumpkin-Sage Shrimp

On October 28, 2015 By Isobar ExpeditionsIn Recipes9 Comments

We made this as an appetizer for our Halloween party, but it would be just as good over a bed of linguine noodles. The original recipe called for bay scallops, but we chose to use shrimp instead because we couldn’t get scallops. Since we’re in Colorado, finding fresh seafood can sometimes be a challenge, but based on the way our guests gobbled them up, shrimp seemed to be a fine alternative.

Ingredients

1 1/2 lbs Raw Shrimp – medium size, peeled and de-veined
1 stick (8 tbsp) Softened Unsalted Butter
1 1/2 tbsp Unsalted Butter
1/4 cup Canned Pure Pumpkin
1 tbsp Fresh Sage – chopped
1/4 tsp Salt
1 Lemon – cut in half

Instructions

In a bowl or food processor, combine the softened butter, pumpkin, sage, and salt. Whisk or pulse until smooth. Add a 1/2 tablespoon of butter to a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add 1/3 of the shrimp to the skillet, making sure that the shrimp aren’t crowded, and cook until pink, about 2 to 4 minutes. Stir in 2 tablespoons of the pumpkin-sage butter and a squeeze of lemon juice. Remove the shrimp from skillet and repeat the steps until all of the shrimp has been cooked. Serve warm or at room temperature with picks.

Spirit of the Season

On October 23, 2015 By Isobar ExpeditionsIn Halloween1 Comment

To say that we’re into Halloween would be the understatement of a lifetime. We’ve been throwing Halloween parties for twenty years now and every year we add a few more decorations, so we’ve accumulated a lot of really cool things. For the ten years, the parties were for the kids, but now we’re all about the adult Halloween party. This year’s party is tomorrow, so we’re frantically getting ready since our remodeling work didn’t finish until two days ago. It normally takes us two weeks to decorate the entire house, so the pressure has been on to finish and get everything done in time.

We decorate both inside and outside and every year the theme for the outdoor decorations change. This year’s theme is spiders, so we had fun building a giant spider web that spanned the entire front porch. We even have a body wrapped in spider webs hanging from the top of the porch. We always do a small cemetery scene, so spiders are crawling throughout. We also match our costumes to the theme, so we’re dressing as Frodo (assuming you get the reference from the Lord of the Rings) and a Black Widow. Inside the house, we go as far as changing out our artwork and even change some of our curtains.

We’re making marinated mushrooms, antipasto spears (with olives, marinated peppers, prosciutto, pepperoni, and mozzarella cheese), tea sandwiches, pumpkin sage shrimp, and a variety of other snacks. Obviously we’ll have plenty wine and beer on hand as well. We wish you could all join us for the party, but we’ve added some pictures to help everyone get into the spirit of the party.