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Balsamic Vinegar

Thursday, March 13, 2008  by Gregory Gronbacher
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I recently began using balsamic vinegar again in recipes, and so far, no complaints. In case you are not familiar, balsamic vinegar is a dark, flavored vinegar used in cooking and salad dressings, mostly in Italian recipes.

I find two primary uses for this lovely vinegar -- cooking chicken and as a salad dressing.

For a great salad, with some spring "zing" try this -- cut in half a bunch of grape tomatoes. Then cut up some baby spinach. Toss together in a bowl with a little salt, pepper, and olive oil. Add balsamic vinegar to taste, and top with pine nuts and crumbled cheese of your choice.

For cooking chicken ***, or fish for that matter, use a deep frying pan, fill with olive oil, two table spoons of lemon juice, salt, garlic finely minced, and half a cup of balsamic vinegar. Cook the chicken breasts until done, usually about 15-20 minutes, turning them frequently. The chicken is then great with veggies, over pasta, or on top of steamed kale. 

 

 


Comments

# Tom in Atlanta said on March 13, 2008 9:56 PM:

Sounds yummy Chef!  One of my favorite items to have on hand is actually Balsamic Glaze. It's much thicker and typically used to drizzle over a dish or as an edible plate decoration. It's also much cheaper than using 50 yr. old Balsamic. Great drizzled over a salad or chicken like you mentioned and great with Bleu or Feta cheeses.

Another item I like to have on hand is white truffle oil but that's another conversation.

# Tom in Atlanta said on March 13, 2008 10:05 PM:

I forgot to mention, Chef, that if you lightly melt some Bleu Cheese over a filet of beef and then drizzle the Balsamic Glaze over the top it not only makes a nice presentation, it also adds a great new layer of flavor to the dish. Add a nice Cabernet or full-bodied Pinot Noir and you have something really special.

# YankeeIBO said on March 14, 2008 5:29 PM:

Gregory,

I use Balsamic Vinegar (one of the good ones)to make some of the best ribs you've every tasted!

You use about a 2:1 mixture of brown sugar and Carribean Jerk seasoning to make a rub for the ribs. Put them in a container and sprinkle liberally with the vinegar. Refrigerate overnite. In the morning, transfer everything to a crockpot and cook all day on low. These come out so good you will almost hesitate to use a BBQ sauce! I put sauces on the table and serve the ribs as is, so everyone can have 'em how they like 'em!

EDITORS NOTE: Sounds great! Thanks....I will try this one of these weekends.

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  • This blog is written by Gregory Gronbacher, Web Editor for Quixtar, Inc. -More
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