You are in luck... I'm at the DMV waiting for my number to call up. I've got the time.
It's still warm outside so I'm giving you my summer specialty: Marinated chicken for the BBQ and pasta salad. I have chicken waiting for me in a Ziploc right now with a homemade orange thyme marinade. Goddamn DMV. Now serving G219...
When picking chicken to grill or smoke, bone-in is your friend. The boneless chicken dries out faster, the bone gives you more leeway for mistakes. Start out with a store bought teriyaki sauce. When you want to branch out into homemade marinades we will go there. Put the meat in a plastic ziploc with enough marinade to coat the meat. Let all the air escape before closing. One way to do that is lower the bag in a large pot of water to displace the air until you get to the liquid. Marinate for at least a day. If you go two or three days it will be amazing. When you take the chicken out Pat it dry with a paper towel. Use a little cooking spray or oil on it afterward and let the chicken sit for half an hour. If it is closer to room temperature you won't get that raw chicken on the inside with the overdone outside.
Don't use high temperature on the grill. I go with 300-350 max. If you want to be safe use a thermometer and wait until the inside of your chicken hits 160.
Now for the pasta salad. Buy whatever bite sized pasta you want: bowties, fusilli, orzo, whatever you prefer. Buy vinegar based dressing like Newman's Own Ceasar, Citrus Splash, Greek Vinagrette, Italian, whatever is on sale. Green onions and cucumbers are a must. Outside of those veggies you can go with whatever is fresh and crunchy: sliced peppers, sliced fennel bulb, celery, halved grape tomatoes, whatever is firm and bite sized. Then you raid the jarred area of the grocery store for whatever you like. Pitted kalamata olives, jarred mushrooms, artichoke hearts, sun-dried tomatoes... again, whatever is on sale or fits your taste buds. The key here is pairing your fresh veggies with marinated veggies. I buy crumbled feta cheese to tie it all together but shredded mozzarella is acceptable.
Boil up half the package of pasta in salt water for 8-11 minutes. Depends on the directions on the box. While it's cooking, drop the marinated veggies with some of the brine and a good squeeze of the dressing into a large sealable salad bowl. When the pasta is done, dump it in the salad bowl and turn it over gently with a wooden spoon. Get that pasta coated for about five to ten minutes. Add the chopped up fresh veggies and feta when it cools down and seal the pasta salad up.
The reason pasta salad is a hit at a deli is it can sit for a week in a fridge and only get better as the flavors hang out. Leftover grilled chicken and pasta salad is a great dish for the work week, you don't even have to warm it up. If a few days in the pasta salad is drying up, give it a little more dressing.
Let me know how that goes
@BMAN. If you can handle that one I'll raise the difficulty level for you.
Now serving G234...