Weekend Cooking: Tequila Lime Chicken

Weekend Cooking is open to anyone who has any kind of food-related post to share: Book (novel, nonfiction) reviews, cookbook reviews, movie reviews, recipes, random thoughts, gadgets, quotations, photographs. If your post is even vaguely foodie, feel free to grab the button and link up anytime over the weekend. You do not have to post on the weekend. Please link to your specific post, not your blog's home page. For more information, see the welcome post.

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When I'm looking for a sure-fire success with the minimum of fuss, one of the first cooks I turn to is Ina Garten. I own most of her cookbooks, and they are all well used. Family Style: Easy Ideas and Recipes That Make Everyone Feel Like Family is one of my favorites.

Now that the weather here in central Pennsylvania has finally broken, we've officially begun our season of eating outdoors. To celebrate the first truly nice weekend, Mr. BFR suggested that we grill Tequila Lime Chicken, an easy, tasty centerpiece to any summer dinner. We served it with asparagus, a salad, and homemade dinner rolls.

The recipe calls for gold tequila, but I've had just as much luck with white (clear). Garten also suggests that you can add a tablespoon of minced cilantro to the marinade; I add a bit more than that. And I always squeeze my own lime juice, though I sometimes cheat on the orange juice. Leftovers make great sandwiches the next day.

Tequila Lime Chicken
Serves 4-6

• 1/2 cup gold tequila
• 1 cup freshly squeezed lime juice (5-6 limes)
• 1/2 cup freshly squeezed orange juice (2 oranges)
• 1 tablespoon chili powder
• 1 tablespoon minced fresh jalapeno pepper (1 pepper seeded)
• 1 tablespoon minced fresh garlic (3 cloves)
• 2 teaspoons kosher salt
• 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 3 whole (6 split) boneless chicken breasts, skin on

Combine the tequila, lime juice, orange juice, chili powder, jalapeno pepper, garlic, salt, and pepper in a large bowl. Add the chicken breasts. Refrigerate overnight.

Heat a grill with coals and brush the rack with oil to prevent the chicken from sticking. Remove the chicken breasts from the marinade, sprinkle well with salt and pepper, and grill them skin-side down for about 5 minutes, until nicely browned. Turn the chicken and cook for another 10 minutes, until just cooked through. Remove from the grill to a plate. Cover tightly and allow to rest for 5 minutes. Serve hot or at room temperature.

You can find the recipe online at the Food Network website. Photo credit: Food Network website.

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Imprint Friday: The Sweet Dead Life by Joy Preble

Welcome to Imprint Friday and today's featured imprint: Soho Teen. Stop by each week to be introduced to a must-read title from one of my favorite imprints. I know you'll be adding many of these books to your wish list.

To round out my celebration of Children's Book Week, I'm featuring a book from the relatively new Soho Teen imprint. When I read the premise of Joy Preble's new novel, The Sweet Dead Life, I knew it was a young adult novel for me. I liked that it had a contemporary setting and I was curious about how it was going to address the business of angels.

Here's the publisher's summary:

"I found out two things today: One, I think I'm dying. And two, my brother is a perv."

So begins the diary of Jenna Samuels, who is having a very bad year. Her mother spends all day in bed. Dad vanished when she was eight. Her older brother, Casey, tries to hold together what’s left of the family by working two after-school jobs—difficult, as he’s stoned all the time. To make matters worse, Jenna is sick. Really sick. When she collapses one day, Casey tries to race her to the hospital in their beat-up Prius and crashes instead.

Jenna wakes up in the ER to find Casey beside her, looking pretty good. Better than ever, in fact. Downright . . . angelic. The flab and zits? Gone. Before long, Jenna figures out that her brother didn’t survive the accident at all, and she isn’t just sick; she’s being poisoned. Casey has been sent back to help Jenna find out who’s got it out for her, a mystery that leads to more questions about their mother’s depression and their father’s disappearance.

Right off the bat I want to note that although The Sweet Dead Life does indeed have angels, Preble has taken a fresh approach. Yes, Casey is looking pretty good, but he's living at home, and he himself isn't quite sure what to make of those strange feathery nubs that are beginning to form on his back. Death may have made him clean up his act, but he's still a teenager and has the attitude to match.

It's fourteen-year-old Jenna, however, who steals the show. The novel is told through her journal entries, which allows us to see her unguarded thoughts. She may swear a bit more than the average young teen, but she's full of spunk and has a resilient spirit.

Two other aspects of The Sweet Dead Life are worth noting. First, the mystery of what happened to Mr. Samuels and why Jenna was poisoned is very well set up. There are several possibilities and a few red herrings to throw us off track, but the plot is not so twisty that we can't have fun trying to figure it out all on our own.

Second, I liked the fact that this young adult paranormal novel does not involve an all-consuming love story. In fact, the book focuses on family, especially bothers and sisters. Preble must have an older brother because Jenna and Casey's relationship is incredibly realistic. The Samuels household is absolutely not The Waltons, which makes it easy to care about Jenna's future.

If you're looking for a contemporary young adult novel with believable characters (never mind the angels) and an engaging plot, then be sure to pick up The Sweet Dead Life by Joy Preble. The balanced mix of mystery and light paranormal elements give the book a broad appeal, and the deeper issues of family, depression, drugs, and abandonment give the story some meat.

Soho Teen, an imprint of Soho Press, released its first book in January 2013. Its debut catalog offers a strong lineup covering a variety of genres. To learn more about the imprint, visit the website, like the Facebook page, and follow them on Twitter.

Buy The Sweet Dead Life at an indie or other bookstore near you.
Published by Soho Press / Soho Teen, May 2013
ISBN-13: 9781616951504
Copyright © cbl for Beth Fish Reads, all rights reserved (see review policy).

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Review: Big Nate Game On! by Lincoln Peirce

Are you familiar with Nate Wright? Although I've read reviews of other Big Nate graphic novels by Lincoln Peirce, Big Nate Game On! is the the first one I've read and it's a perfect choice for Children's Book Week.

The first thing I learned about Nate is that he definitely doesn't have a self-esteem problem. He's convinced he's the best at whatever he does. Now far it be it for me to discourage such a positive attitude, but, um, Nate doesn't exactly live up to his self-made reputation. Fortunately, his friends put up with him and he has just enough luck to see him through. His long-suffering coach is a little less tolerant, but coaching sixth-graders is no walk in the park.

The collection of comics in Big Nate Game On! lets us tag along as Nate makes a name for himself (not necessarily in a good way) in athletics. Each of the three sports he plays brings out a different aspect of his personality. On the BB court, Nate practices trash talking more than he does his dribble. During the summer, he tries to come up with a cooler baseball team name than the Chez Lindas, named after their beauty parlor sponsor. And when playing soccer, he has to overcome a bit of jealousy while convincing himself that he's the star of the team.

Nate, his friends, his coach, his cranky gym teacher, and even cats all add to the fun of this laugh-out-loud look at middle grade sports. You and your kids will get a kick out of Nate's antics. Take a look at the scan (click to enlarge it) to get an idea of just how much trouble Nate can get into.

Although you can certainly read Big Nate Game On! purely for fun, teachers and parents will find plenty to talk about, such as friendship, sportsmanship, coaching, jealousy, and playing fair. Although it might sound odd to suggest a collection of comics for a book club, I think this book would be perfect. Boys, especially, will laugh over Nate's efforts to outwit the coach, outplay the bigger boys, and outrun cats (he's scared of them!). Whether they read the book on their own or with others, young readers will love Big Nate Game On!

Here is a short video of Lincoln Peirce explaining how he comes up with ideas for Big Nate and demonstrating how he draws the gym teacher.

Buy Big Nate Game On! at an Indie or other bookstore near you.
Andrews McMeel, 2013
ISBN-13: 9781449427771
Rating: B+
Source: Review (see review policy)
Copyright © cbl for Beth Fish Reads, all rights reserved (see review policy).

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Wordless Wednesday 237

Historic Granary, 2013

Click image to enlarge. For more Wordless Wednesday, click here.

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Review: Not Exactly a Love Story by Audrey Couloumbis

Did you know that this is Children's Book Week? I'm celebrating by talking about young adult and middle grade books I've read this month. Yesterday, I reviewed two selections for a mother-daughter book club; today's novel is nod to the late twentieth century and is told from a boy's perspective.

In 1977, Vinnie Gold wonders what more could go wrong in his life: His parents divorced, his mom remarried, he was mugged, his dog died, he got a bad case of acne, and now he has to move from the city to Long Island. He grumbles about learning to adjust to a new house, new school, and new friends, but--whoa!--check out the cute girl who lives next door.

Despite all the other things going on in his life, Vinnie's main problem is that he's sure he isn't cool enough for Patsy, who hangs out with the football star. When Vinnie accidentally gets the number for her private phone line, he gets up his nerve to call her, but when Patsy answers, he can't speak. Later, he calls back to apologize for scaring her, disguising his voice.

And thus begins Vinnie's dual life. By day, he is the nerdy neighbor boy Vinnie, but by night he is the confident, witty Italian teen (whom Vinnie thinks of as Vincenzo). But, of course, Patsy doesn't know the identity of her midnight caller. Forced finally to agree to a face-to-face meeting at the school dance, Vinnie/Vincenzo comes up with a desperate scheme, hoping that Patsy will learn to accept him as he really is.

Audrey Couloumbis's Not Exactly a Love Story takes a realistic and sometimes funny look young teen troubles during a time when kids could still have secrets and life's dramas were not quite so public and rarely escalated. Because the young adult novel is told from Vinnie's perspective, it should have appeal to both boys and girls.

I found Vinnie to be a likable guy who tries hard to adjust to his changing family situation. This is not the story of an evil stepfather or arguing parents. And, in fact, Vinnie still has a good relationship with his father and comes to accept his mom's new husband. That doesn't mean he's wildly happy or is a sap, but he's a good kid who makes the best of things he can't change.

At the core of the novel is Vinnie's efforts to gain self-confidence and discover his true self while trying to win the heart of pretty and popular Patsy. In his everyday personality, he's a good student, he helps out at home, and enjoys caring for tropical fish. With his stepfather's encouragement, he rather awkwardly decides to take up a sport and become a bit more well-rounded. By night on the phone, though, Vincenzo is (so he thinks) suave and assertive, which sometimes works but also backfires. All this adds up to both fun times and a few cringe-worthy moments.

Vinnie's story is a universal tale of the trials and tribulations--and joys--of the awkward teen years, set in a time when high schoolers had more more freedom and privacy than they have today. In Not Exactly a Love Story, Audrey Couloumbis doesn't idealize the 1970s, but you can't help but wonder what today's kids are missing thanks to their full schedules, instant communication, and constant supervision. Lots for kids and their parents to ponder.

I listened to the audiobook edition (Listening Library; 6 hr, 13 min), read by Maxwell Glick. Glick did a great job channeling his teenage self. His reading is expressive and engaging and increased my connection to the novel and sympathy for Vinnie.

Buy Not Exactly a Love Story at an Indie or at bookstore near you. This link leads to an affiliate program.
Random House / Random House Books for Young Readers, 2012
ISBN-13: 9780375867835
Rating: B
Source: Review - audio (see review policy)
Copyright © cbl for Beth Fish Reads, all rights reserved (see review policy).

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