Soak it in...

... marinades!

I love my George Foreman grill. It is especially handy when I am trying to eat healthfully. Just throw some fish, steak, chicken, shrimp on the grill, and there you go.

One of my friends called me one day, and she was distressed by her Foreman grill. She said no matter how long she cooked it her chicken was coming out dry. That’s when I shared the secret of success to the George Foreman grill.

With almost everything I cook on it, I marinate the hell out of it so the meat turns out moist and delicious.

Two summers ago, I was on a real Caribbean cooking kick. Every night I would marinate fish or chicken in a little mixture I made from rum, pineapple, orange and lime juice, honey, soy sauce and garlic. (I just threw it all in a bowl and whisked it until it tasted right). I would toss on a little pre-mixed jerk seasoning and throw it on the Foreman. Then I’d serve it with some rice or couscous and some sort of vegetable (one of the frozen bags is a Caribbean blend or I’d make sweet potatoes with a little coconut, vanilla and brown sugar). I also have some fantastic steak marinades that I will post when grilling season rolls around.

Marinades are great. They can be easy to make. I started marinating meats in high school when a family friend told us to marinate a round steak in Italian dressing all day and then toss it on the broiler for a few minutes. Heaven. There are so many great pre-made ones right now too. On a good day, you can find all kinds of marinade bottles in my fridge, although right now I think the only one I have is a Caribbean one. Another favorite of mine is the Jack Daniels marinade bags. You just open them up and stick your meat down in the bag for a few hours. And, of course, the longer you marinate something, the better. Just never more than 24 hours, because your meat could go bad.

My newest discovery is these McCormick marinade spice envelopes. I swear by their pot roast bag, so I am not surprised that I loved this marinade. I got two, mojito lime and baja citrus, but I haven’t tried the mojito lime yet.

For the baja citrus, I kinda-sorta followed the instructions on the packet, which said to add cooking oil (I use the veggie/canola blend), orange juice and honey. I only had orange-pineapple juice, so I added a little lime juice to make it less sweet. I let two chicken breasts sit in it overnight. I grilled them up and used them on my salad. Obviously, it was so amazingly tasty that I had to write about it. Super yum.

The salad, for the record, was the organic salad mix with carrots, cabbage and greens and I put a light balsamic vinaigrette on it. Remember when eating right used to taste so yuck? Not anymore, kids.

I am posting the link for the baja citrus marinade, in case you want to check it out. There are recipes on there that look delish. You can get it on sale for $1 an envelope every once in a while, so it may become a staple in my pantry. I think my next recipe will be the baja shrimp pizza.

Oh, and since I’m not above plugging products I like, I want to share a secret that those of us who travel to the Caribbean have known for years. My friend, Ruth, runs a little spice shop where you can get amazing Caribbean spices, marinades and sauces. Ruth’s signature product is her award-winning Cruz Bay grill rub. Because I grill on the deck all week on St. John, St. John Spice is my first stop (I also get my coffee there). We made some kick-ass fish tacos with fresh mahi mahi that I soaked in lime juice and then covered with CBGR. There is even a yummy marinade recipe on the jar. If you would like to check it out, you don’t have to spend a few grand on a week in paradise (although I highly recommend it). You can go to www.stjohnspice.com.

While you’re there, get yourself some rum caramels and Kiss of the Jumbie coffee too. And check out the Cruz Bay Web cam. Then call Delta and book your flight. I can smell the rum already…