Ravioli with Perfectly Grilled Chicken and Olive Oil

            Yesterday I BBQ brats from the grill for dinner.  Thinking ahead, I grabbed some chicken breasts and burgers, figuring I could fix a quick meal after school for a couple of days with the extra meat.  Last evening while I prepared the grill my son Ted handed me a bag of charcoal that had hickory wood imbedded into each briquette.  I filled the bottom of the grill, one layer deep with charcoal and made sure to put some lighter fluid on each piece.  Next, I built a pyramid out of the saturated pieces, packed tightly together.  I lit the charcoals and Poof! An impressive flame leaped up.  This next step is where most people fail with cooking on the grill:  Do not start cooking on the grill until most of each briquette is gray.  Otherwise your food will taste like lighter fluid, or you might not get an even cooking area.  Next, spread them around the grill, put aluminum on the grate and start cooking.  For years my husband and I have had discussions about how to light the grill.  In the end I assert my father’s method is best.  I like to think he is looking down from heaven’s backyard and smiling; he was a man who loved his grilling (and his fires). 

            Ravioli with Perfectly Grilled Chicken and Olive Oil

In a pan put two sliced carrots, one chopped onion and two garlic bulbs.  Cook them in butter or olive oil until tender; add salt and pepper to taste.

Add:  Cooked Chicken breasts cut into bite size pieces.

In a different pot cook your cheese ravioli.  When they are floating on top of the water pull them out, they are finished.  Over-cooked ravioli is not pleasant to eat.  Put your servings of desired amount of ravioli on dinner plates, (more if your husband is thin and less if he is challenged), add chicken and vegetables over the top.  Now pour a small amount of olive oil over everything topping it with a small amount of parmesan cheese, place fresh chopped basil on the top.  Normally I eat Alfredo sauce on my ravioli, but this time I was quite pleased with how the olive oil went with the creamy centers of the ravioli. 

P.S.:  You can often get home-made ravioli at your butcher.  It is much to be preferred over mass-produced globs of dough.