I was at the grocery store the other day when I saw a pineapple and started chuckling when I remembered a story my mother told me. She and Dad travelled to Honolulu, Hawaii and went to see the Don Ho show. During the performance Don Ho selected several women from the audience, lined them up on stage and proceeded to kiss them, one woman at a time!  My mom was mortified but didn’t want to run off the stage. She said when it was her turn, he French kissed her and it was all she could do not to slap him!

This is a great make ahead meal. The majority of the ingredients are cooked on the grill. You can prepare all the ingredients the day before except the rice.

Island Teriyaki Chicken Skewers with Thai Jasmine Coconut Rice and Grilled Vegetables– Serves 6

Island Teriyaki Chicken Skewers with Grilled Vegetables:

4 boneless, skinless, chicken breasts
10 ounces teriyaki marinade
½ cup pineapple juice
6 long wooden skewers
6 ears of fresh corn, shucked and silks removed
16 ounce bag sweet multicolored mini-peppers
2 medium Vidalia onions, sliced ½ inch thick
2 cups fresh snow pea pods

Thai Jasmine Coconut Rice- makes 6 cups cooked rice

2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1 teaspoon kosher salt
2 cups Thai Jasmine white rice
14 ounce can full fat Coconut milk
2 cups water
Garnish: Fresh Cilantro leaves

The day before you plan to eat this meal marinate the chicken and prepare the vegetables. Cut each chicken breast into 6 pieces and place in a zip top gallon bag. Pour teriyaki marinade and pineapple juice into bag, squeezing bag to mix things up. Remove air and seal. Marinate chicken in refrigerator overnight. The next day soak 6 skewers in water for 30 minutes then remove marinated chicken from refrigerator. Starting and ending with chicken, place 4 chicken chunks and 3 mini-peppers on each skewer. Place corn and sliced onion on a plate and spray with Canola non-stick spray. Heat grill to 350ºF.

While grill is heating, cook rice. In a medium saucepan, add oil, garlic, and salt. Gently sauté garlic until soft but not brown. Add jasmine rice and stir to coat the grains of rice with the garlic oil. Add coconut milk and water. Stir. Turn heat to high and bring to a boil; stirring frequently. As soon as it boils lower heat to low, cover with lid and simmer for 15 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside to rest for 7-10 minutes. Fluff with a fork before serving. Garnish with fresh cilantro leaves. Tip: This recipe will not work for “lite” coconut milk or brown rice.

While rice is cooking, place chicken, corn and onion slices on grill. Grill chicken until the internal temperature is 165ºF. The corn and onions should have grill marks on them and be cooked how you prefer, crisp tender or tender.  Stir-fry the snow peas over high heat with 1 teaspoon of canola oil spray.  Enjoy, Friends!

Published in The News and Neighbor on May 11, 2013