Herbed Balsamic Chicken with Blue Cheese

I don't really have anything exciting to share today.  Its hotter than the devil's toenail around here in Virginia and we leave for a week at the beach on Saturday.  I'm just concentrating on getting through the workdays and enjoying my evenings (while cooking with wine of course).  I'm dreaming of lounging on the beach and eating delicious seafood and laughing with the fam.  I haven't had a whole week off since our honeymoon a year and a half ago!

This chicken dish was juicy and flavorful and we both enjoyed it even though my husband declared the blue cheese to be "disgusting and borderline creepy".  He sure did gobble it up, though, so I guess it wasn't THAT creepy.

I served this with roasted purple cauliflower (I won't even repeat my husband's comments about THAT) and grilled romaine hearts with blue cheese dressing and cherry tomatoes.  Yum!

Herbed Balsamic Chicken with Blue Cheese
Source: Gourmet: Day to Day

3 skinless boneless chicken breasts
1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
3 tablespoons olive oil
2 teaspoons coarse kosher salt, divided
1 1/2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper, divided
2 teaspoons herbes de Provence
6 tablespoons crumbled blue or gorgonzola cheese

Place chicken in large resealable plastic bag. Whisk vinegar, 3 tablespoons oil, 1 1/2 teaspoons coarse salt, and 1 teaspoon pepper in small bowl. Add to chicken; seal bag. Chill 2 hours, turning bag occasionally.

Prepare barbecue (medium-high heat). Brush grill rack generously with oil. Arrange chicken on grill. Sprinkle with herbes de Provence, 1/2 teaspoon coarse salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. Grill chicken until cooked through, about 6 minutes per side (longer for bone in chicken, should be 165 degrees for the internal temp). Transfer to plates; top each piece of chicken with about 1 tablespoon of crumbled blue cheese immediately so that cheese begins to melt.

Roasted Cauliflower with Goat Cheese
Source: Adapted from Epicurious

1 head cauliflower (I used purple), cut into florets
3 tablespoons olive oil
salt and pepper to taste
fresh thyme, chopped
1/4 cup crumbled goat cheese

Toss cauliflower florets with olive oil, salt, pepper, and thyme.  Roast at 425 for 20 minutes or until fork tender.  Add goat cheese and put back in oven for 5 minutes to melt cheese.

Grilled Romaine Hearts with Blue Cheese

Cut hearts in half and drizzle some olive oil over them.  Add salt and pepper to taste.  Grill face down for 2-3 minutes.  Top with blue cheese dressing and halved cherry tomatoes.