Strawberries for Dinner?

Your kitchen is filled with the intoxicating scent of fresh strawberries. You just couldn’t resist picking up a couple of quarts. But you really need to make dinner. What’s a body to do?

Here’s an idea that combines fresh strawberries with that other warm-weather pursuit: grilling. Grilled Chicken and Strawberry Salad is light; it’s refreshing; and you can make it in about half an hour. it’s a satisfying meal that doesn’t heat up the kitchen on a warm summer night – scored a winner in my house.

And you can do essentially the same thing with a pork tenderloin. Or how about chopping up some cucumbers and strawberries to create a relish for broiled salmon? So many possibilities! All I can say is that I’m not going back to the red Jello-O and marshmallow-strawberry concoctions of my youth.

This recipe came courtesy of Coastal Living. You first create a sugar-almond topping by melting together butter and brown sugar, and mixing in slivered almonds. Pour the mixture on wax paper to cool. Then, while waiting for your charcoal or gas grill to get hot, make a strawberry vinaigrette by pureeing in a blender or food mill equal parts oil, vinegar, and honey. Throw in a cup or so of strawberries, hulled and cut in half, and puree for another few seconds. Finally, grill your chicken.  When your chicken comes off the grill, pour the strawberry vinaigrette over your favorite green salad mix, toss it, then top with the sliced grilled chicken, sugared almonds, and a few sliced strawberries.

The result is a light, refreshing meal in about half an hour. Want something less sweet instead of the sugared almonds? How about a sliced avocado, crumbled bacon, or blue cheese for a more savory combination?

How about you? What would you try? Better yet, do you have some approach to strawberries as part of the main course in a meal? Care to share?