Nice that when you decide to relocate to a beautiful place like Oregon,
it's not too tough to convince friends to come visit. We just bid
adieu to overnight guests from the old neighborhood who were en route
to Portland. Since we had a lot of catching up to do, I wanted a dinner
menu that was easy, easy, but really good. Fell back on an old favorite
- grilled chicken marinated with lemon, rosemary garlic and olive oil.
Not exactly haute cuisine, but it always goes over well. Here's my
take on an old favorite:

Put a generous cup of EVOO in a large Tupperware & add grated
(microplaned) skins of 3 lemons. Thinly slice the 3 lemons and toss
them in. Add several fresh rosemary sprigs (finely minced), several
crushed cloves of garlic and generous grinds of cracked pepper. Place
cut up chicken parts (skin on) in mixture and toss well to mix and
distribute marinade and lemon slices. Cover & refrigerate for 6 hours.
Half an hour before cooking remove from refrigerator, give it another
toss, and let it come to room temp. Grill slowly over indirect flame
while partaking potent potables with guests and nibbling guacamole &
chips.

Served it last night with sauteed mixed baby squash w/garlic and sliced
mushrooms, French bread and a big tossed salad. So good - so easy. (I
always make extra - it's really good cold & makes great picnic fare.)

Dessert was TJ's chocolate ganache cake dressed up with fresh Oregon
raspberries. All in all a lovely, relaxed evening with good friends.
We finally toddled off to bed & woke up this morning to DH's famous
blueberry pancakes. Since he's definitely the "morning person" in this
pairing, I'm more than happy to let him handle breakfasts...it's the
real secret to the sucess of our long and happy marriage.

Nancy T