Forking Up

Guess what. In most urban apartment complexes, charcoal grills are not allowed. Nor are smokers.

That's right: I'm in Texas, the LAND OF BBQ and I am denied my own BBQ setup.

It's really quite a tragedy.

There's a communal one in the pool area, but then you must brave the hoards of little children to get to it. Or wait in line while someone else grills up burgers. I'm also pretty sure you have to supply your own charcoal and I don't trust that whoever used it prior will be so kind.
And since I can't quite afford to go out for deeeelicious BBQ (maybe at Salt Lick, or Rudy's, or someday even Franklin's) every single night, I had to come up with a backup plan. Apparently a standing George Foreman electric grill is okay, but I haven't gotten quite that desperate yet.

So, friends, I give you this gift: BBQ Apartment Chicken. For those other poor souls who must make do with stovetops in lieu of a grill of their own. And if you're still in college and happen to have a forgiving fire alarm, perhaps you could even get away with making this in the common room of your dorm (be sure to thank me when the single males come to investigate the tantalizing smell though, okay?).


Feel free to sub store-bought BBQ for this homemade version, and I encourage you to experiment with other flavors you may just have hanging out in your pantry to really jazz this up.
For me, the key was extra dark vanilla brown sugar and a bit of a heavy-handed pour of homemade hot sauce. I also put just a few extra splashes of cider vinegar and orange extract. The result was a tangy, slightly fruity, spicy sauce that was just perfect. Because a BBQ craving does not always hit when one is well stocked with BBQ sauces.

I paired it with some browned butter green beans--I would have added bacon bits if I'd had them--and a quick carrot slaw. All in all, a pretty successful endeavor.


Quells a BBQ craving, if nothing else.

Easy Apartment BBQ Chicken

• 1 lb chicken tenders or breasts
• BBQ Sauce:
• 1 cup ketchup
• 3 heaping tbs brown sugar
• 4 tbs Worcestershire sauce
• 1 tsp tomato paste
• 2 tbs cider vinegar
• 1 tbs hot sauce (I used homemade
• 2 tsp crushed garlic
• 1 tsp smoked paprika
• 1 tsp dijon mustard
• 1 tsp orange extract
• 1/2 tsp salt

-Mix together all sauce ingredients. Toss chicken with 1/4 of the BBQ mixture, and let sit in fridge for about 10 minutes.

-Heat a skillet or grill pan to high heat. Cook chicken in batches of 4 pieces, and cook until slightly charred on both sides (about 5 minutes per side).

-Serve with more BBQ sauce poured on top.

Street corn is a relatively new thing to me. As a New Englander, I always get my corn fresh off the farm and doused with butter and salt. Anything else is unheard of. However, I've developed quite a taste for this stuff since moving here.

Street corn is sweet, spicy, and a great side dish to any Tex Mex cuisine. Torchy's has been my favorite so far, but I'm sure there are others who make a good street corn too. Probably the food trucks, seeing as how they're actually on the street.

Mexican Street corn

• 4 cobs worth of corn or 1 bag of frozen
• 1 tbs chile powder
• 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
• 3 tbs or more cojita cheese
• 3 tbs mayonaise
• squeeze of lime

-In a dry skillet, cook corn over high heat until blackened on both sides. Transfer to a large bowl.

-Mix together corn and the rest of the ingredients. Serve hot.