Spring Break and Mila's Thighs

Did you miss me? Not only did I miss you, but I actually missed cooking. With the kids off school for the week and our friend Beau and his kids in town visiting, I barely had a moment to boil water.

We were busy playing tourist in our hometown -- visiting The Museum of Natural History, The Bronx Zoo, and Coney Island. Mostly, we ate out (although we did pack homemade sandwiches for our daytime outings).

One night, our friend Beau, a terrific cook, treated us to one of his specialties, Mila's Thighs.

Here is the recipe (in Beau's own words):

Mila’s Thighs

4-5 lg. cloves garlic
1 t kosher salt
2 T lime juice
2 T olive oil
1 lg bunch cilantro
2-3 lbs chicken thighs

Finely chop the garlic, then sprinkle the salt over it and chop the salt into it a little more. Then use the side of your knife to work it into a paste. (Hold your knife at a 5-10-degree angle, almost flat against the cutting board, and start nipping bits from the pile of minced garlic, sliding your knife along as you press it against the board. It’s obvious once you’re confronted with it....)

Put it in a bowl, add the juice and the oil and give it a good whisking, then chop the heck out of the cilantro. Don’t worry about avoiding the stems--just gather the leafy stuff up and chop it finely, stopping when you run out of it.

Marinate for a couple/few hours—no more—and grill as above. Sometimes I substitute a couple big whacks of tarragon for some of the cilantro.

Can't wait 'til August when we'll visit Beau and his lovely wife Galen at their place in Wellfleet and enjoy some of his other culinary specialties, including Jamaican meat pies, caramel cod, and Thai Fried Halibut.

He's kindly shared his recipes with me, so I'll see if I can re-create the magic on my own....

Meanwhile, once the girls return to school on Wednesday, it's back to the old routine. Time to go shopping and start drawing up a menu or else I'll be reduced to takeout again.