When the thermometer starts climbing above the 70′s we, here in the boston haus, like to take the opportunity to walk out of our kitchen to make our dinners outdoors.  What is it about cooking outside that makes food taste so much better?  Maybe it’s the sunshine, or the bounty of fresh vegetables waiting to be eaten.  Whatever the reason, one truth remains: food tastes best when grilled outside, preferably with chilled beer in hand.

To me, nothing beats grilled chicken legs – moist dark meat with crispy skin rubbed in spices.  Warm or cold, grilled with corn or just by itself as a snack – it’s perfect.  Unfortunately, as a child grilled chicken in my house meant breast meat that was over cooked with burnt bbq sauce on top.  This, my friends, is not the way to enjoy chicken.  When I got my own grill I promised myself to find a fool-proof recipe so that my future children wouldn’t have the same association.

One of the spices that perks my ears and forces me to pay attention to any recipe is cumin.  When I saw this recipe I knew I had to try it, and of course up the cumin amount.  The second thing I noticed was that I had everything on hand to make it, no special trips to special stores (ie: Whole Paycheck, I mean Whole Foods).  At first bite you experience the sweet honey glaze but then you get a kick from the spice rub – the chili powders and cumin mingling, having a party on your taste buds.  “This is it!” I thought to myself, this is my go-to chicken recipe.  Simple to make, quick to cook, and tasty to boot.  I’m satisfied to know that this is what my children will think about when they hear that chicken is for dinner.

Spicy Honey Glazed Chicken Legs

Adapted from Cooking Light

Ingredients

• 1 teaspoons garlic powder
• 1 teaspoons chili powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon paprika
• 1/2 teaspoon ground red pepper
• 2 chicken legs, thigh and leg seperated
• 3 tablespoons honey
• 2 teaspoons cider vinegar

Preparation

• Preheat grill – Once up to temperature (above 400 degrees), lightly rub grill with cooking oil, replace lid till ready.
• Combine first 6 ingredients in a large bowl. Add chicken to bowl; toss to coat. Combine honey and vinegar in a small bowl, stirring well, and set aside.
• Add chicken to grill and cooked covered for 6 to 8 minutes.
• Brush chicken with 1/2 of the honey glaze and flip over, coat the top of the chicken legs with the remaining glaze – replace lid and cook for another 6 to 8 minutes – remove chicken from grill when done.

This is one of a pair of chairs that I acquired for my future house – at the time I was 16 with no real intention of leaving anytime soon.  I found them at a thrift store where each had a piece of paper taped to the back stating “free”.  Be still my beating heart, how could these velvet gold club chairs, a throw-back to any era I unfortunately never lived in, be free?

I never thought of how I could load up these chairs into my ’94 ford escort, or where I would put them once I brought them to my parents house, all I knew was that I had to ask some grownup if that sign was a bad joke or for real.  Next thing I know an older man is helping me to shove them in my hatchback, tying down the trunk with twine.  When I got home no one, much like the people at the store, could understand what I saw in them. “Crushed velvet?! Katie!” my Mother exclaimed.  “Where in hell are they going to go?” was my Father’s concern.

So they sat in my room, stacked like a small Jenga tower of two – one flipped onto the other, waiting for my future.  I knew they were wonderful, I knew they were comfortable, and in the 90′s no child of 16 would have refused the glory of velvet chairs (I doubt most could today, either).

Years later they found their way to my first apartment, even though the small shotgun style Philadelphia row home never quite fit them.  Then in my next palatial Providence home where they had their own nook – side by side they stood and formed a perfect vignette (if only the surrounding furnishes were mcm in their design).

Now in Boston, they are separated by need and room.  One sits in the living room, companion to a black vinyl recliner and the other in our bar where I can sit as my husband makes himself a drink, or where I can read while my cat sits looking out of the window watching birds taunt her.

Separated and celebrated individually they have finally found their home.  My young self saw in them their clean design and petite stature intriguing and their soft golden fabric the icing on the cake.  Almost 15 years later and I still love them like the first day I saw them.  They sit proudly in my new home looking as though they have always belonged, reminding me that my sense of style hasn’t really changed in so many years – just matured.  They stand as a good example of why I will always look at thrift stores and antique shops, because a used piece of furniture being reborn into a new household is the best example I can have for recycling – past, present, and future living together in one chair.