Grilled Chicken with Coconut Sauce

I don't confine my outdoor cooking to the summer months. Though this dish is delicious in the summer, it's also very comforting and tasty during cold winter months.

Coconut was never a flavor I enjoyed when I was a kid--maybe because I associated coconut with sweetened flakes on the top of those hideous pink Hostess snowballs.  Coconut milk, however, is another flavor entirely.  Many of my favorite recipes call for it (see Chicken Curry in a Hurry, Thai-Style Squash Soup, and Curry-Coconut Sauce).

This sauce has the perfect amount of heat--the jalapenos are not overpowering, but do add a spicy zip that is so delicious over chicken (over your rice, too).  You can use fresh jalapenos and grill and peel them, but I no longer do that: I just use two or three canned jalapenos and put them straight in the blender without grilling, then freeze the rest of the can for next time (I put 2-3 peppers in a snack Ziploc, squeeze the air out, then put all the Ziplocs in a freezer bag and date it).

When I made this over the weekend, it just so happened that my boys were at a movie and my daughter was taking a nap--so Allen and I were able to have a quiet and delicious lunch at home together.  I don't know that this has ever happened before.  I hardly knew how to eat without getting up to help kids or fill glasses or wipe up spills or set-the-timer-for-ten-minutes-for-a-certain-child-who-needs-a-deadline-in-order-to-finish-his-food.

Perfect lunch.