Grillin' at 10 Pomfret.....the heat is on!

Well, this probably was probably not the best night to be standing out at a really hot grill, cooking chicken thighs, when it is 90+ degrees at 8 p.m.!  Oh well, it's a done deal-- I survived, and the dinner was yummy.  I tried one of my new spices I purchased in Cincinnati....this one had rosemary, mint, thyme, savory, marjoram, parsley, salt, pepper.  I removed the skin and did a brine for just about an hour (1 quart water, 3/4 cup salt, 3/4 cup honey, which gets boiled, then cooled off by the frozen chicken!!!)

Before grilling, I get my brown rice ready.  2 cups chicken broth, 1/2 stick butter, a little dried onion simmer.  Then add 1 cup brown rice and cook on low for about 30 minutes.  When done, turn off the heat and let it sit.  Cut up some fresh spinach and grab a handful of sliced almonds.  Add to the rice, along with seasoning.  I chose a mint seasoning that also had some cilantro in it.  My aim was to get some serious flavor going on.

After tasting, all I had to add was some salt and pepper.  Really tasty this time!  Now I go out to grill the chicken thighs for about 1/2 hour, turning regularly so they don't get too brown.

  Ahhhh, perfect!  Now for the glaze....

I mixed some honey (1/2 cup), dijon mustard (a couple of tablespoons), soy sauce (maybe a 1/4 cup), and a little rice vinegar ( a couple of tablespoons).  You kind of eyeball it, tasting all the way....  I cook on the stove for about 5 minutes.  Then I added 1 tablespoon of cornstarch and some water to thicken the glaze up.  I painted it on the chicken and popped the chicken into a 350 degree oven for the last 10 minutes. 

What was the best thing about this dinner?  The tender, moist chicken because of the brining?  maybe.  The flavor of grilling and using the seasoning that had the mint?  maybe.  Or, was it the glaze at the end?  You know, I think it was a combination of all three.... but the raves I got from the folks who ate this say it all!  This definitely wasn't a quick dinner, but when all was said and done, it was well worth the wait!!!  From start to finish?  About 1 1/2 hours.