Arrrrgggg Matey

I love limes. Love love love limes. My friend Des is the same way. There's a running joke among our friends that neither of us will ever get scurvy.

Scurvy is a sailor's disease. Or in this case - pirates. Since One-Eyed Willie is still moping around the house, its fitting to have a pirate meal. I dedicate this dinner to Ringo.

Taking care of him is actually pretty easy - except the three times a day when he needs his eyedrops. The hour before I start watching the clock and dreading each passing minute. When its time to do the deed, I chase him around the apartment till I can try to pin him down and wrestle with his head while I try to put in the eyedrops. Its a huge feat of acrobatic gymnastics. Its frustrating, and by the end both of us are in tears.

So you've noticed a lot of easy dinners this week. I don't have energy for anything else. Easy dinners usually involve me stealing an idea from someone else's blog. That way I don't have to be creative on my own. Tonight was no different. This one's from Tara. And tonight I added the magic extra - alcohol. Don't worry. It has lemon in it, so I won't get scurvy.

Cilantro Garlic Lime Chicken Panini (from Smells Like Home)

Step 1

• 2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, pounded to 1/2" thick
• 2 limes
• 1/2 cup chopped cilantro
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 Tbsp honey
• 1 Tbsp olive oil

Squeeze the juice of the limes into a large Ziploc bag and add cilantro, garlic, honey, and olive oil. Close the bag and squeeze contents to incorporate. Add the chicken and refridgerate for 8 hours.

Step 2

• 6 oz Monterey jack cheese, sliced and divided in half
• 1/2 roasted red pepper, cut into 1/2" strips
• 1/2 loaf ciabatta bread (or other artisan or thick-sliced sourdough bread)
• mayonnaise
• chipotle chili powder
• olive oil

Pre-heat grill and panini maker. Slice the bread into two equal pieces then slice open through the soft part of the bread. Drizzle some olive oil on to each piece of bread, place oil-side down on the panini maker, and close the lid. Grill chicken while bread is warming.

When chicken is cooked and bread is slightly browned (but not toasted), spread some mayo (to preference) on all slices of bread (the soft side only) and sprinkle with a minimal amount of chipotle chili powder (a little goes a long way!). Place a couple pieces of cheese on the bottom slices of bread, add a few strips of roasted red peppers, then top with chicken. Add more peppers, cheese, then top with the other sides of the bread.

Carefully put sandwiches back on panini maker and close the lid, pressing down slightly. Try to evenly distribute the weight of the lid over the sandwiches so that they aren't squishing out on one side. Remove sandwiches when cheese is starting to melt down the sides of the sandwich (takes about 3-5 minutes).

Prep time: Step 1 - 10 minutes; Step 2 - 10 minutes

Inactive prep time: 8 hours

Cook time: 12 minutes

Serves: 2

Pirate Punch

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup water

1 cup raspberries

1 cup rum

1 cup tonic water

juice of 1/2 lemon

1/4 cup sugar

1) Combine 1/2 cup sugar and water in pot over low heat, stirring until dissolved. Increase heat to medium and let simmer for two minutes. Remove from heat and let cool.
2) Combine sugar water with raspberries in pitcher and crush raspberries.
3) Add rum, tonic water, lemon juice, and sugar.
4) Serve in ice filled glasses